Eskom sees 4,000MW less power demand as South Africans find alternatives

Luis

Luis

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Eskom sees 4,000MW less power demand as South Africans find alternatives

In four years, average hourly electricity demand on Eskom's network dropped by 4,000MW, approximately the same amount of power it cut from the grid during stage 4 load-shedding.

The latest data from the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) showed that South African households and small businesses continued to reduce their reliance on Eskom's grid power.
 
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"These larger systems were typically installed by mines, industrial companies, factories, and farms that required substantial amounts of electricity."

But, but.... I was told this could never work.
I was also told that renewables were unreliable and could only power vibrators for f**gotty liberals and nothing more, unlike the fossil fuels that currently do not, and has not ever experienced massive global energy disruptions.
 
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In other words, Eskom is going to find out the hard way that it isn't needed, and people certainly are not going to continue to support outright greed and corruption anymore. The government fairly much deserves what is coming.
 
RaptorSA said:
"These larger systems were typically installed by mines, industrial companies, factories, and farms that required substantial amounts of electricity."

But, but.... I was told this could never work.
I was also told that renewables were unreliable and could only power vibrators for f**gotty liberals and nothing more, unlike the fossils fuels that currently does not, and has not ever experienced massive global energy disruptions.
Click to expand...
Solar definitely can run a mine, etc. But the industry is doing it for cost savings mainly. They do not run completely off solar/battery 24/7. They run during the day off solar and the grid and then use their batteries (if they have) during peak times.

Payback is insanely quick for industries, with most being around 5 years.

Its running the plant 24/7 off solar and battery alone, where the problem comes in.
 
Well, need to build much more capacity. This is insightful.

Some excerpts from this:
  1. SA is the third oldest country with Nuclear capability.
  2. An SA company was given the prize for being the best nuclear medical company in the world, guaranteeing delivery 36 hours anywhere in the world from time of order.
  3. The SA small modular reactor is the first of its kind to use helium for cooling instead of water and can therefore be deployed anywhere in Africa which usually does not have much inland water.
  4. The first prototype is taking 5 years + due to having to comply with legislation but once approved, subsequent models would take 3.5 years or so to build.
  5. These reactors are built for a 60 year lifetime, and would probably work up to 80 years. A solar plant will need to be replaced at least 3 times in 60 years.

 
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RaptorSA said:
"These larger systems were typically installed by mines, industrial companies, factories, and farms that required substantial amounts of electricity."

But, but.... I was told this could never work.
I was also told that renewables were unreliable and could only power vibrators for f**gotty liberals and nothing more, unlike the fossils fuels that currently does not, and has not ever experienced massive global energy disruptions.
Click to expand...
I suggest you check the video I linked in this thread. The guy explains why renewable does not work for certain industries.
 
netstrider said:
I suggest you check the video I linked in this thread. The guy explains why renewable does not work for certain industries.
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He's not entirely accurate. They literally are running mines etc. off solar. Its just blended with the grid when the solar isnt fully there. Its a cost thing, the mine can install the 2 to 3 times PV and have a ton of batteries, but why do that if you can install the PV you need and have enough batteries to supply your load during expensive peak times. You achieve 90% of the result with the latter.

If Eskom continues its trajectory then one day it will make sense for the mine to actually attempt to run 99% of the time off-grid and get large diesel generators to top up when needed. They could also wheel in electricity from another province that is generating more than it needs. Doesnt Vodacom do that?

Also like our very own ADR who pushes renewables for his benefit, this guy isnt much different.

Screenshot 2026-04-22 113826.jpg
 
And this article leaves out conveniently all the smelters and industries that have closed. When will we get an article that addresses that? 11 of 66 smelters are running or something like that. How many mines have closed? Etc. If we factor all of that, how much of that 4GW is from the solar contribution?
 
RaptorSA said:
"These larger systems were typically installed by mines, industrial companies, factories, and farms that required substantial amounts of electricity."

But, but.... I was told this could never work.
I was also told that renewables were unreliable and could only power vibrators for f**gotty liberals and nothing more, unlike the fossils fuels that currently does not, and has not ever experienced massive global energy disruptions.
Click to expand...
There's an easy test, cut the Eskom supply and see if there is no wailing and gnashing of teeth that will follow, if not, the all's good.
 
netstrider said:
I suggest you check the video I linked in this thread. The guy explains why renewable does not work for certain industries.
Click to expand...
And that is fine. Nuclear can power those. I love nuclear power and want more of it. And in the mean time, the existing coal can power them as well.

However, right now, the private sector can build out a huge amount of solar and wind capacity with battery energy storage fairly quickly and cheaply. And for commercial (offices, shops, warehouses), light industrial and residential, that can cover a very good percentage of the load. And considering the SA government is pathologically committed to free electricity, having infrastructure that just gets it from the sun isn't a bad idea.
 
konfab said:
And that is fine. Nuclear can power those. I love nuclear power and want more of it. And in the mean time, the existing coal can power them as well.

However, right now, the private sector can build out a huge amount of solar and wind capacity with battery energy storage fairly quickly and cheaply. And for commercial (offices, shops, warehouses), light industrial and residential, that can cover a very good percentage of the load. And considering the SA government is pathologically committed to free electricity, having infrastructure that just gets it from the sun isn't a bad idea.
Click to expand...
Nuclear power is maxed out at the moment.
 
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