Eskom is the symptom, not the cause of load-shedding - Hilton Trollip

[wingnut771]

Am I the only one who thinks Eskom being in DMRE causes a conflict of interest?

• Eskom would like to use renewables+storage as it's cheaper (LOCE), faster to bring online and better for environment
• DMRE would like to use coal as it gets better kickbacks from truckers, keeps mining unions happy and easier for state capture corruption (eg Medupi)

IIRC, Eskom used to be in Public Enterprises.

I agree there is a conflict.

Eskom is under Public Enterprises.
Make a law so that Minerals and Energy have all the control.

Makes sense. /s

 

[ToxicBunny]

I agree there is a conflict.

Eskom is under Public Enterprises.
Make a law so that Minerals and Energy have all the control.

Makes sense. /s

TBH, I would go a different way.

Eskom being under DPE makes sense, but DMRE must be relieved of its control of Energy Acquisition... their sole responsibility should be the Energy Mix strategy for the country as a whole, and Eskom should be in control on Energy acquisition (or at least the distribution/transmission arm).

If Eskom and a private entity sees a need, and a commercially viable way to have a 10000MW solar plant in Pondokkiesfontein, they should be able to go out and approve the PPA's for it. (there does need to be oversight on this process yes, but not control from government, and the oversight itself needs to be tightly regulated to specific time frames and norms)

 

[Harold_Crick]

Who to blame?

"Eskom was right and government was wrong," Mbeki said at an ANC fundraising dinner in Bloemfontein on Tuesday night, after indicating that the government had been asked earlier to invest more in electricity to keep pace with the country's economic growth.

 

[wingnut771]

TBH, I would go a different way.

Eskom being under DPE makes sense, but DMRE must be relieved of its control of Energy Acquisition... their sole responsibility should be the Energy Mix strategy for the country as a whole, and Eskom should be in control on Energy acquisition (or at least the distribution/transmission arm).

If Eskom and a private entity sees a need, and a commercially viable way to have a 10000MW solar plant in Pondokkiesfontein, they should be able to go out and approve the PPA's for it. (there does need to be oversight on this process yes, but not control from government, and the oversight itself needs to be tightly regulated to specific time frames and norms)

Yes, it shouldn't be in Public Enterprises.

 

[Neptuner]

Electricity was not invented when Jan left home

Photoshopping Jan Oberholzer's face on a portrait of Jan van R.
/loading

 

[TheChamp]

Who to blame?

Despite that we would still be in an okay position if it wasn't for wholesale looting and corruption that ensued after he was removed.

 

[Vrotappel]

ANC is the main problem. Criminal by nature.

 

[Cosmik Debris]

Despite that we would still be in an okay position if it wasn't for wholesale looting and corruption that ensued after he was removed.

Great. So all those arguments of Eskom only supplying 10% of the population in the 1980's were incorrect then? We had enough to supply everybody and didn't need Medupi and Kusihle?

I remember Mbeki as a rabid anti white pro black female person. When whites told him he needed more power stations he chose to ignore them saying, - "Your father told my father what to do but you're not going to tell me what to do!"

When Frederik van zyl Slabbert was asked by Mbeki what he would do if he were to become president just after Mbeki became president and was expecting some praise, Slabbert told him he would surround himself with clever people to remind him how stupid he actually was. Mbeki took it as a slur and never spoke to Slabbert again.

Some of us were around and remember these little gems.