Eskom in huge trouble

[Lager]

I don't give a fanny..Eskom Eksdom Telkom Dwooskom they all reek of kom
Will not mind going back to the Stone Age. I love camping

 

[heartbroken]

I would suggest permanent stage 2 loadshedding everyday, so they can go and do maintenance, not this keeping the lights on at all costs BS.

 

[heartbroken]

I don't give a fanny..Eskom Eksdom Telkom Dwooskom they all reek of kom
Will not mind going back to the Stone Age. I love camping

Make sure you have large stockpiles of water. I wouldn't care if we loose power for a week, but being without water will kill me.

 

[Musicmp3]

Only ANC to blame.
They created AA, BEE+, jobs for cadres and their inability plan forward.

In the 1652 years before van Riebeeck landed, nothing had been built as well.

 

[HavocXphere]

Genuine question here (possibly extremely noob).

Assuming we get to that point where a national blackout could occur, ie. demand exceeds supply. Surely they can just cut off a much larger chunk of the grid temporarily to at least keep it stable? Cities are split into many different zones - is it not possible to, say, cut off 80/90% of these as opposed to what usually is done during load-shedding?

So for Cape Town, instead of having the usual zones 1 and 3 off for 2.5 hours at a time. Can't they turn off zones 1-10 for 6 hours, or whatever is necessary? And then once things have been restabilised they can slowly reintroduce zones to the grid, even on a rotational basis if necessaruy (anti load-shedding)?

Anyone have any more knowledge about this to enlighten me...??

If you can cut it fast enough sure. Right now it takes a while (in some cases someone has to physically drive to the substation and throw a switch). Thats not much good if you need to stabilise the grid right this second.

 

[Dames]

If you can cut it fast enough sure. Right now it takes a while (in some cases someone has to physically drive to the substation and throw a switch). Thats not much good if you need to stabilise the grid right this second.

True, hadn't actually thought of that!

I still agree with heartbroken, I would far rather we just have permanent load-shedding to allow for maintenance than sit and face this near inevitability. Yes, it'll have an impact on the country/economy etc. but I'm quite sure a total nationwide blackout would be FAR worse...

 

[diabolus]

Genuine question here (possibly extremely noob).

Assuming we get to that point where a national blackout could occur, ie. demand exceeds supply. Surely they can just cut off a much larger chunk of the grid temporarily to at least keep it stable? Cities are split into many different zones - is it not possible to, say, cut off 80/90% of these as opposed to what usually is done during load-shedding?

So for Cape Town, instead of having the usual zones 1 and 3 off for 2.5 hours at a time. Can't they turn off zones 1-10 for 6 hours, or whatever is necessary? And then once things have been restabilised they can slowly reintroduce zones to the grid, even on a rotational basis if necessaruy (anti load-shedding)?

Anyone have any more knowledge about this to enlighten me...??

Of course they can, but you actually do need people at Eskom that
[a] Have the qualifications to work with electricity and understands when and how to loadshed
Knows there is a crisis
[c] Are allowed to do their jobs regardless of their race
[d] Is actually showing up at work because they are getting paid...

 

[Seriously]

Only ANC to blame.
They created AA, BEE+, jobs for cadres and their inability plan forward.

In the 1652 years before van Riebeeck landed, nothing had been built as well.

Not true, They have build mud/grass huts, kraals, a savage army and designed and perfected fighting sticks (not the japanese variant) as well as spears, not Zuma's spear.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

more good cheer on monday...

 

[HavocXphere]

Of course they can, but you actually do need people at Eskom that
[a] Have the qualifications to work with electricity and understands when and how to loadshed
Knows there is a crisis
[c] Are allowed to do their jobs regardless of their race
[d] Is actually showing up at work because they are getting paid...

If they didn't you'd be sitting in the dark already...permanently.

 

[werner]

the 2003 USA blackout is well documented in wiki, and the reports show exactly how far things can go wrong when power is removed (fires, people stuck on rollercoasters, no petrol, no drinking water). I'm sure with loadshedding people have become a bit accustomed to looking after themselves, but it is worth reading the wiki page...forewarned etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003#Effects

 

[Necropolis]

Genuine question here (possibly extremely noob).

Assuming we get to that point where a national blackout could occur, ie. demand exceeds supply. Surely they can just cut off a much larger chunk of the grid temporarily to at least keep it stable? Cities are split into many different zones - is it not possible to, say, cut off 80/90% of these as opposed to what usually is done during load-shedding?

So for Cape Town, instead of having the usual zones 1 and 3 off for 2.5 hours at a time. Can't they turn off zones 1-10 for 6 hours, or whatever is necessary? And then once things have been restabilised they can slowly reintroduce zones to the grid, even on a rotational basis if necessaruy (anti load-shedding)?

Anyone have any more knowledge about this to enlighten me...??

There was a day in 2008 where I'm pretty sure they did exactly this.

 

[vaakseun]

Interesting article on Fin24 http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Eskom/Eskom-losing-maintenance-battle-report-20150329

"Some of the equipment is so old that it is only used in two or three places in the world. The original manufacturers - suppliers such as Alstom, Siemens, General Electric and ABB - are the only ones who can truly undertake preventative maintenance on the equipment. They are struggling to get visas," the engineer said."

Eskom's wheels are literally coming off with SA facing a national blackout and some bureaucratic red-tape is preventing skilled engineers from getting visa's? WTF?

 

[durbandave]

I would suggest permanent stage 2 loadshedding everyday, so they can go and do maintenance, not this keeping the lights on at all costs BS.

The problem with this scenario is the following:

1. Firstly I dont think they have budget for said maintenance
2. To catch up there maintenance backlog they would probably require way more than current load shedding allows, eg 6 hours a day per area etc....
3. From other articles it seems that much of the equipment is really on its last legs and can only be maintained by the companies who made it

 

[durbandave]

the 2003 USA blackout is well documented in wiki, and the reports show exactly how far things can go wrong when power is removed (fires, people stuck on rollercoasters, no petrol, no drinking water). I'm sure with loadshedding people have become a bit accustomed to looking after themselves, but it is worth reading the wiki page...forewarned etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003#Effects

Nice article. Interesting that they were able to bring back power in effectively 2 days to most parts, whereas SA will require at least 2 weeks if not more.

 

[HavocXphere]

Nice article. Interesting that they were able to bring back power in effectively 2 days to most parts, whereas SA will require at least 2 weeks if not more.

If you have a decent bit of power close by then its easier. US would also have taken 2+ weeks if they hadn't.

 

[durbandave]

If you have a decent bit of power close by then its easier. US would also have taken 2+ weeks if they hadn't.

I can just picture the chaos in SA, if there is any form of extended outage where we have no power. I shudder to think of the consequences which would result if this happened, both from an economic and social impact.

 

[vaakseun]

If you have a decent bit of power close by then its easier. US would also have taken 2+ weeks if they hadn't.

Same thing with the 2011 California blackout. They just imported power from neighboring states to kickstart their grid again.

South Africa is for all intents and purposes effectively on an island in the middle of the ocean.

 

[Former member 61586]

I can just picture the chaos in SA, if there is any form of extended outage where we have no power. I shudder to think of the consequences which would result if this happened, both from an economic and social impact.

Wouldn't this chaos you speak of be a good thing in the long run? Would make the powers that be, realise they can screw with other stuff. Not the stuff that really matters.

 

[Sador]

Wouldn't this chaos you speak of be a good thing in the long run? Would make the powers that be, realise they can screw with other stuff. Not the stuff that really matters.

You mean they won't be fleeing the country to somewhere safe to avoid the backlash?