In other news, I understand the acting GM of ESKOM generation has just resigned.
It will also “rob” Eskom of millions in income…
At this point they should be fine with that… Needing to run emergency generation costs a massive amount of money and NERSA won’t allow them to recoup that through the tariff, so it comes from the operational budget.
So selling less power is actually a good thing, for now…
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So yeah… Now they’re saying that money is done, kaput, klaar:
In some ways I feel relieved. Chickens coming home and all that with Eskom now saying what is going on and what they can do, not do, instead of being told what will say so that their shareholders can look “good”.
Agreed. They also now specifically said they’re aiming for 65% EAF by end of next (financial?) year, and not 75% as proclaimed by Gordhan.
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And now this view: Lowest production since 2001
Groetnis
Well, that is the idea… Take more things offline for maintenance right? And don’t run continuously with known problems, but rather take offline for repairs, and repair properly.
So I would expect lower generation than the previous years where we just kept going and damn the consequences.
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I think SA can work with that, as I said before, some called it a tantrum but set down fixed schedules and people will adapt, get in line, one that favors businesses.
So businesses may need to change their business hours, at least they can operate without expensive generators or whatnot, earning profits to then install solar panels.
For a home office to get UPS power is so much simpler than for most businesses.
I know it is not as simple, but roving LS timeslots, sometimes higher levels suddenly, are not conducive for business at all.
Context: Sometimes you have to amputate a limb before the body dies.
@TheTerribleTriplet Yeah, they called you a madman!
(Or a princess who pea’d in her bed…)
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Much as this is inconvenient, I think in some ways it is good for us too. Again, thinking back to my days as a child on an African farm. We didn’t have power 24 hours of the day. Even when we got an inverter and solar panels around 1988, it had to be used sparingly.
Now I fully understand that some businesses run 24 hours a day, and need a lot of energy, but surely a 2-hour slot every night after 10PM (which is pretty much how Cape Town runs it now) in the residential sector won’t kill anybody. It is a lot easier to do now than it was 30 years ago when a 40W incandescent lamp was the lowest wattage option for reading 
In the long run, much like the completely unnecessary war and the resulting energy crunch in Europe, it will lessen our fossil fuel dependence in the long run, and for all the hurt it causes, that is a good thing.
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There we go … that is a good step in the right direction.
I have had the privilege this year of working inside a large packhouse.
The cost and downtime implications of not doing maintenance properly was astonishing, I also quickly realized that often times these breakdowns were also attributed to : “Sorry its a aging line we need new equipment now” and this is in the private sector, so wanting “new” things because the other one is “old” is sadly a problem and common excuse I see everywhere.
I am pretty sure if you go to Lethabo you will see basic maintenance is done much better than at Tutuka.
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If I recall Lethabo’s boilers were designed to use super crappy coal because that is what’s available in that area.
It also means the crappy coal also doesn’t get stolen and it gets to run on what it’s designed to run on.
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So. I assume you guys have seen the fallout over Phalaphala?
The official opposition is calling for parliament to dissolve itself and trigger early elections. Doubt that will happen, but this seems like a biggie.
It’s beginning to look like an unavoidable loss at the ballot box in 15 months, and a certain future of coalitions.
I just wish I had some spare cash to do 2 things:
- Buy another battery
- Expand my array
The rand (the currency) may be in another place tomorrow
Have you looked what happened since 8AM this morning? Sadly the monthly amount I call my salary was already converted by then 
You almost had me there Plonk… being Euro’s n all that…
Groetnis