Power cuts won't affect World Cup

[Turtle]

On point 8. That will likely turn to a negative as the very reason why there is no competition is that prices are artificially low so private entities see no profit incentive in being involved in the electricty field in South Africa.

I don't fully buy this, it looks like a valid argument at a glance but doesn't really make sense. I mean, why is Eskom's electricity 'cheaper'? Do they really genuinely produce it cheaper, or are they subsidised further by taxpayers, in which case we pay anyway? If they genuinely produce it cheaper, why wouldn't it be possible for a free market economy to also produce it that cheap? If OTOH they are subsidised, then it's not really cheaper at all, and the solution is to kill the tax subsidy portion - so we'll pay X less taxes but Y more to the 'electricity company', where X>Y because governments are seldom efficient at anything. The only arguments I can think of might be "Eskom has huge economies of scale", or "most of Eskom's capital costs are already sunk by apartheid-era taxpayers".

 

[DragonLogos]

wonder what the odds are at Ladbrokes

 

[zambussi]

Face it guys, the day we all expected to come, but were hoping would not, has finally arrived. I believe this is the last window period for those who want to get out, to be able to get out, before the currency and the economy sinks.

Any cretin with half a brain can understand that if you are now telling the country to reduce energy demand, and you want this reduced demand in place for 5 years, that:

a) There can be no growth for 5 years - neither business growth, nor growth of the emerging middle class.

b) No more property developments - after all what's the point if there's no power ?

c) No car manufacturing growth - are BMW, Merc and the rest still going to manufacture in a country where they cannot grow ?

No one wants to invest in a country where their investment cannot grow - that's why they are called investors and not philanthropists.

As for Solar Energy, sounds wonderful, but those extolling the virtues of solar don't understand the costs. I got a quote for the most efficient solar collectors to power my house - currently my electricity bill is R 1,000pm. Solar will cost me just over R 650,000 !

Wind Power ? for 3KW (enough to power a heater) - the costs including batteries (which is the biggest costs and which last 5-7 years) around R 40,000 ? Again madness.

Who is going to do that ?

What gives me the least hope for the future of this country is not the fact that we have a power crisis, but the response of the morons who precipitated the crisis by not facing reality in the 1st place. They are still burying their heads in he sand, and claiming their screw-up will not negatively affect the economy - has anyone looked at the currency lately ?

Sure other countries have had power issues, but in those countries growth outstripped demand, without them mothballing power stations, and reducing maintenance, while the retards at the power utility were awarding themselves "performance" bonuses.

On a final note, anyone who may have heard commentary on the summit in Davos, would have not been surprised to hear that while Africa is poorer than Europe, African heads of state have a much higher net worth than their European counterparts.

 

[Moederloos]

Slightly off-topic, but still relevant to the whole Eskom saga...

has anyone begun to consider or even measure (I don't know how you would measure this) the "positive" effects that this power shortage might have?

I cannot applaud your being positive about this crisis as others did.

You argument is like telling an AIDs patient to be glad he developed leukemia, because now, instead of a years-long illness, he will be dead in 6 months.

There is NOTHING at all positive about this mess. NOTHING.

Had the idiots in charge all lost their jobs, and had the ANC lost so much face that the populace rose up and demanded a new election ASAP, that would have been a positive.

 

[DragonLogos]

Instead they will all vote themselves pay increases - and win the next election with more seats