Finally, some sense

[CathJ]

At least someone's finally admitting that all this won't happen overnight:

While Eskom last week said the "power-rationing phase" had started, the reality is that there is no legal way to enforce this.

Forcing consumers to cut usage meant drafting a regulatory framework - which could take months - and arranging the physical means, such as new meters, to enforce it. This could take years.

The tariff regulations would provide for price, not prosecutorial, penalties - those who used too much electricity would not go to jail, but pay massive prices.

(My emphasis)

But:

Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger said key industrial customers which had reduced their demand by 10 percent were not being cut in the load shedding.

By the end of the month Eskom aimed to deal with municipalities in the same way - those who reduced demand by 10 percent should be able to avoid load shedding.

"We don't need regulations for what we are doing at the moment."

So if you save, ooh, 50%, but you're in a municipality which doesn't hit its 10% saving, you'll still be loadshedded. It's a classic example of the Prisoner's Dilemma, actually - never thought I'd see an example of that in real life!

Via IOL

 

[Moederloos]

Exactly - just yesterday afternoon I thought "Hmm, need to run the pool pump - let me do it now, before they cut our power. Oh wait, 1Kw might make the difference. Ag, so what - if I do not do it now, then I will need to fiddle with floc and HTH and ..... Too bad"

And guess what? Power cut out at 6pm.

 

[Piepalook]

Exactly - just yesterday afternoon I thought "Hmm, need to run the pool pump - let me do it now, before they cut our power. Oh wait, 1Kw might make the difference. Ag, so what - if I do not do it now, then I will need to fiddle with floc and HTH and ..... Too bad"

And guess what? Power cut out at 6pm.

9 generators are down so far.

 

[VanZan]

9 generators are down so far.

It's much worse than that - 9 units are down on planned maintenance and then they 'lost' another 9 units on unplanned shutdowns. That is a total of 18 units out of 56. That gives you 30% of installed capacity if you assume that all units are roughly the same size. I know they are not but it is still more than double the international norm for MAX outage! The point is that although they are now painting a true picture, it just confirms that we are up to our ankles in shyte. (and we are standing on our hands )

 

[Paulr]

Exactly - just yesterday afternoon I thought "Hmm, need to run the pool pump - let me do it now, before they cut our power. Oh wait, 1Kw might make the difference. Ag, so what - if I do not do it now, then I will need to fiddle with floc and HTH and ..... Too bad"

And guess what? Power cut out at 6pm.

That is the feeling people are getting. Aw well, power is on, let's wash clothes, make food, do whatever we have to to resemle a "normal" day.

CathJ, good example there. I remember reading a couple of months ago that the whole uncertainty of power and if/when it's going to go off is similar to one of the basic principles of torture - messing up someones timeframes and denying them from establishing a routine. It's the same now, you don't know if, when you come home, there will be power and you can make supper/watch tv/do whatever constitutes that period of your "daily routine".....