Eskom will die a slow death - Dawie Roodt

[Jan]

Eskom going to die slow death, warns economist

Efficient Group founder and economist Dawie Roodt said “Eskom is going to die a slow death” in response to the 2023 budget speech.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented the Eskom Debt Relief Bill in the budget, with the government taking over R254 billion of Eskom’s debt.

 

[Priapus]

Okay, so we just need two more articles on this, and we'll be all caught up!

 

[AlphaJohn]

OK cool

So how can we speed it up?

 

[Cranjus McBasketball]

Ok. There needs to be a moratorium on Eskom articles unless someone has something new to say.

 

[system32]

 

[Lukitz]

 

[Decarin]

Yeah Municipalities (especially the big cities) will soon find out that they need to find their own electricity services pronto.
I can't see this as an easy transition from one megacorp to hundreds of small suppliers.

 

[AlphaJohn]

Yeah Municipalities (especially the big cities) will soon find out that they need to find their own electricity services pronto.
I can't see this as an easy transition from one megacorp to hundreds of small suppliers.

Still think we should have followed NZ's formula.

Organization
New Zealand's electricity sector is split into six distinct parts:

Generation – Generation companies generate electricity at power stations, injecting into either transmission lines (grid-connected generation) or distribution lines (embedded generation). The electricity generated is sold via the wholesale market to retailers. Numerous companies generate power, but 92 percent of the generation sector is dominated by five companies: Contact Energy, Genesis Energy, Meridian Energy, Mercury Energy and Trustpower.
Transmission – Transpower, a state-owned enterprise, operates the national transmission network, consisting of 11,000 km of high voltage lines that connect generating stations with the grid, and supply distribution networks and large industrial consumers (direct consumers) in each of New Zealand's two main islands. The HVDC Inter-Island is a high voltage direct current link which connects the transmission networks of the two islands. Transpower as System Operator manages the electricity system in real time to ensure generation matches demand, in accordance with the rules of the electricity market.
Distribution – Distribution companies operate 150,000 km of medium and low-voltage lines interconnecting grid exit points with consumers and embedded generation. There are 29 distribution companies each serving a set geographic area.
Retail – Retail companies buy electricity from generators and on-sell it to consumers. Numerous companies retail electricity, including many generating companies, but 95 percent of the retail sector is dominated by the five big generation companies: Contact Energy, Genesis Energy, Mercury Energy, Meridian Energy and Trustpower.
Consumption – Nearly two million consumers take electricity from the distribution networks or the transmission network and buy electricity from retailers for their use. Consumers range from typical households, which consume on average 7 MWh per year, to the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, which consumed 5,000 GWh in the 2017 year, representing 13% of total energy demand.[17]
Regulation – New Zealand's Electricity Authority (formerly the Electricity Commission) is responsible for regulation of the New Zealand electricity market. Transmission and distribution are regulated by the Commerce Commission. Policy and consumer protection is managed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the promotion of energy efficiency is led by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

Source

As they use to have a SOE like South Africa back in the day.

 

[Azure 12]

 

[porchrat]

Just separate distribution from generation already and sell off those power stations to people that can run them without causing explosions, allowing chimneys to collapse, or filling the boilers with rocks instead of coal.

I'm not even confident Eskom can handle distribution, but at least the generation part will be safe from these morons.

 

[Voicy]

Just separate distribution from generation already and sell off those power stations to people that can run them without causing explosions, allowing chimneys to collapse, or filling the boilers with rocks instead of coal.

I'm not even confident Eskom can handle distribution, but at least the generation part will be safe from these morons.

You're right. They shouldn't.

* Privatize generation
* Privatize distribution to municipalities and local companies.
* Leave Eskom responsible for HV transmission and grid-tie'ing the country.

Your electricity bill is then split into 2 parts:
1) Fixed Line rental - this you pay to whoever maintains and installs the lines in your area.
2) Usage - this you pay to any producer in the country who is grid tied. So you can choose to buy electricity from a windfarm in cape town while you're paying line rental in durban. Each producer can set their own rates. Then you'll see prices plummet.

 

[Pak Fa Fui]

Propagandist should not get this much exposure, why not use knowledgable people with useful information

 

[wingnut771]

You're right. They shouldn't.

* Privatize generation
* Privatize distribution to municipalities and local companies.
* Leave Eskom responsible for HV transmission and grid-tie'ing the country.

Your electricity bill is then split into 2 parts:
1) Fixed Line rental - this you pay to whoever maintains and installs the lines in your area.
2) Usage - this you pay to any producer in the country who is grid tied. So you can choose to buy electricity from a windfarm in cape town while you're paying line rental in durban. Each producer can set their own rates. Then you'll see prices plummet.

What happens when the wind doesn't blow at the wind farm?

 

[Jer1cho]

Propagandist should not get this much exposure, why not use knowledgable people with useful information

Eskom is dying. Has been for decades. This is not new information. What propaganda?

 

[dualmeister]

 

[The Darkness]

You're right. They shouldn't.

* Privatize generation
* Privatize distribution to municipalities and local companies.
* Leave Eskom responsible for HV transmission and grid-tie'ing the country.

Your electricity bill is then split into 2 parts:
1) Fixed Line rental - this you pay to whoever maintains and installs the lines in your area.
2) Usage - this you pay to any producer in the country who is grid tied. So you can choose to buy electricity from a windfarm in cape town while you're paying line rental in durban. Each producer can set their own rates. Then you'll see prices plummet.

There’s an issue with this idea. It’s not like internet, where there are different last mile connections.

How would a third party electricity supplier get it to you? Over Eskom lines yes, but essentially all else it’s currently comes from a central place. Are you saying that the IPP would serve their power to a central distribution point? If so, the tariff war would be at that point, and if their margin is determined by competitors then that distribution point (which would still be Eskom) would be able to hike down the competition against their base price, which is a huge doorway for corruption.

This is actually an incredibly complex mechanic to solve and one that might be better if people just always buy their power the normal way, but much of Eskoms load is IPP generated. This would bring their costs down regardless which would reach the end consumer.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

There’s an issue with this idea. It’s not like internet, where there are different last mile connections.

How would a third party electricity supplier get it to you? Over Eskom lines yes, but essentially all else it’s currently comes from a central place. Are you saying that the IPP would serve their power to a central distribution point? If so, the tariff war would be at that point, and if their margin is determined by competitors then that distribution point (which would still be Eskom) would be able to hike down the competition against their base price, which is a huge doorway for corruption.

This is actually an incredibly complex mechanic to solve and one that might be better if people just always buy their power the normal way, but much of Eskoms load is IPP generated. This would bring their costs down regardless which would reach the end consumer.

Works in other countries, taking your internet analogy think of it in terms of international transit. Generation would be Seacom, Eskom as DFA providing the backhaul across the country, municipalities would then be equivalent to like a Frogfoot, distributing it locally and then XYZ Energy is Afrihost who you pay and they sort out the rest upstream.

Except instead of billing each other in GB they bill in kWh.

 

[Paulsie]

You're right. They shouldn't.

* Privatize generation
* Privatize distribution to municipalities and local companies.
* Leave Eskom responsible for HV transmission and grid-tie'ing the country.

Your electricity bill is then split into 2 parts:
1) Fixed Line rental - this you pay to whoever maintains and installs the lines in your area.
2) Usage - this you pay to any producer in the country who is grid tied. So you can choose to buy electricity from a windfarm in cape town while you're paying line rental in durban. Each producer can set their own rates. Then you'll see prices plummet.

Fixed liner rental = R 10,000.00 per month to allow for the sustained maintenance of all 43,000 employees and comrades.

 

[The_MAC]

OK cool

So how can we speed it up?

Install Solar

 

[The Darkness]

Works in other countries, taking your internet analogy think of it in terms of international transit. Generation would be Seacom, Eskom as DFA providing the backhaul across the country, municipalities would then be equivalent to like a Frogfoot, distributing it locally and then XYZ Energy is Afrihost who you pay and they sort out the rest upstream.

Except instead of billing each other in GB they bill in kWh.

I hear you with this, except what is the ‘Afrihost’ component doing in this situation? Those ‘suppliers’ would be handling billing etc only? The only business to be had there is a race to the bottom. There no value proposition component.