Questions on 'Load Shedding'

1. How did you hear about the projected load shedding, when it first was raised? Variety - this forum, radio, and press

2. What sorts of things do you do 'earlier', if the power cuts come at prime time (evenings). - get supper cooked before 6 - this is a major annoyance. Child needs to bath sooner and that may be when he is finishing his homework.

3. Does the power just abruptly cut out, or does it 'brown out' slowly. And when it returns, same question, all at once - or slowly? - browned out this last Tuesday. Haven't been there to see it come back on. Have thought about taking a trip up Northcliff to watch it soem time.

4. What kind (if any) damage does this do to any 'gear' - pc's, fridges, geysers, etc? So far it has clobbered the TV. PC is behind a UPS. DSTV decoder seems to need Menu 13 runs a few times now and it did lose its software once - but that is a swopout to fix.

5. What happens to your security systems? Your electric fences (if you have any). Does it block or interfere with any 'panic button' systems? Cuts out garage door - that means I need to operate manually. The ADT radio device may have been whacked by a surge but that was sorted out - those devices are battery powered - not sure of the long term effect on betteries.

6. Are you used to the idea now, of 'electricity' being something which sometimes, simply
isn't there for use? Has it changed the way you view your 'gadgets' (TV, DVD player, PC etc). Nope, this continues to remain a fact of sheer incompetence on government and Eishkoms part

7. What happens 'outside' your house/flat on the street during the power cuts? (Assuming you've looked) Is it complete darkness, or do the streetlights shine at all? Are traffic lights at those times, working? Complete darkness (?) Nope - the restuarants have candles. There are a few (very few) houses that have alternative power sources. It gets quieter. Cars have to travel more slowly.

8. What happens to electric powered gates during the power cuts - if they can't open - what do you do with your car if you can't get into your driveway? Have to operate garage manually

9. Have you heard of any instances, where the power cuts have caused, or allowed crime to happen? Yes. Just a random thought - the nature of the crime in the dark is quite different. The home invasions that have happened seem to be characterised by the thugs turning lights on and not being concerned about making noise - those criminals want the light to be able to see and to heat up the iron. Minor theft is increased however.

10. If power cuts happen at prime time, do you tend to sit in silence, deliberately go to bed early, or do you have battery operated radio's etc - to play music or something? I go out. I have gas lighting but I would think that it is appropriate to rad by a flickering light source.

11. If you're part of a family, and have been going through the power cuts together, have you noticed any changes in the group dynamics. (Like - people are talking with each other more - or alternatively getting more upset and arguing. The dynamic has changed - I have my son over and once every two weeks we are cutting that session short - the reason being that when he goes back to his mother's it takes a little longer for him to get sorted out before bed time and I need to give him that extra time. I am also visiting people more - I do feel that I am being a little mercenary in that it is because of power cuts that I visit.

Addiitional note - I was at a restuarant last night and it had a blackout. Nice that they had plenty of candles and are gas operated in the kitchen. BUT. The place was cold. They have wood fireplaces but can't use them because the extractor fans are powered by electricity.
 
1. How did you hear about the projected load shedding, when it first was raised?

Via internet News sites, chatter in the office.


2. What sorts of things do you do 'earlier', if the power cuts come at prime time (evenings).

I cook the night before, do my washing and cleaning the morning after.


3. Does the power just abruptly cut out, or does it 'brown out' slowly. And when it returns, same question, all at once - or slowly?

Just cuts out, I have everything off besides my fridge, and it just goes quiet.


4. What kind (if any) damage does this do to any 'gear' - pc's, fridges, geysers, etc?

Workplace has lost 1 PC and a few harddrives are hurting or have been lost.

5. What happens to your security systems? Your electric fences (if you have any). Does it block or interfere with any 'panic button' systems?

N/A

6. Are you used to the idea now, of 'electricity' being something which sometimes, simply isn't there for use? Has it changed the way you view your 'gadgets' (TV, DVD player, PC etc)
Not at all, it has made me admire the common light bulb though.

7. What happens 'outside' your house/flat on the street during the power cuts? (Assuming you've looked) Is it complete darkness, or do the streetlights shine at all? Are traffic lights at those times, working?

Everything out, 2 people have some sort of power and have their tvs on. Candle light everywhere.

8. What happens to electric powered gates during the power cuts - if they can't open - what do you do with your car if you can't get into your driveway?

N/A

9. Have you heard of any instances, where the power cuts have caused, or allowed crime to happen?

Yes, my home towns KFC was robbed, 5 men came in, waited for the power to go, then robbed the place.

10. If power cuts happen at prime time, do you tend to sit in silence, deliberately go to bed early, or do you have battery operated radio's etc - to play music or something?

I have an mp3 player. I wake up very early the day before to do washing etc, then by night time I'm tired enough to sleep though about 1.5hours of the 4 hour power outage.

11. If you're part of a family, and have been going through the power cuts together, have you noticed any changes in the group dynamics. (Like - people are talking with each other more - or alternatively getting more upset and arguing..)

N/A
 
thanks guys
@ettubrute reWill we get to see/read the piece when you're finished?

I'm buddies with Ben Kruger (the 'Meneer' from Skooldae) who's directed a lot of my plays before, so when this ones done, I'll be passing it to him - and if he likes it, it'll probably
happen.
 
LG, a few cents-

*Babies and some animals needing hot formula- carers being unable to provide this. I make a hot flask of water minutes before the electricity goes off, so i can later feed baby parrot (who i believe is trying to talk :) )
*Tanked fish pegging everywhere cos of power outs
*It is a very unpleasant thing to suffer loadshedding at night as winter has already announced its arrival in JHB. To have no power 6pm-10pm (what i get), once or twice a week in winter, sucks. The cold is unshakable for four hours. I wonder if we will see an increase in the number of people who die this winter from the cold?
*Some people suffer multiple load shedding- at work; and then later at home. Imagine the frustration!!!
*Traffic lights going out are a real problem- huge source of anger created and time and money lost. Central JHB now has a few pilot(?) solar-powered robots. The biggest risk is that the panels will get stolen. Telkom once found one of their $$$$ panels in a hut, being used as a table top, with 'legs' nailed into the panel....
*Business Day last week had an article about copper cable theft which happens during loadshedding (They sit and wait. It's the predictability/schedule that allows them to plan when to steal cable). Search MyBroadband for "cable theft". It is a huge problem, especially when telkom just refuses outright to replace the copper cable.
 
I forgot to say in 2004/5 we lost a lot of stuff through surges.
Now we never forget that as soon as the power goes off we pull the wall plugs for the PC and the TV and the electric phone.

As the surges mostly happen when the power is restored we hope to save items that way.

Debbie2 - May I suggest you keep a tally of the hours lost over a period of say a fortnight? Our circuit lost 40+ hours over a two week period and when we grumbled at the CPF it appeared to sort itself out. Weird. 4 hours per blackout is totally unacceptable.
Also - if you have not yet read the latest Noseweek Issue 103 for May 2008 you could find no better reading matter. Eskom is totally OUTED/PWNED!!! Lovely stuff.....
 
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Debbie2 said:
LG, a few cents-

*Babies and some animals needing hot formula- carers being unable to provide this. I make a hot flask of water minutes before the electricity goes off, so i can later feed baby parrot (who i believe is trying to talk :) )
*Tanked fish pegging everywhere cos of power outs
*It is a very unpleasant thing to suffer loadshedding at night as winter has already announced its arrival in JHB. To have no power 6pm-10pm (what i get), once or twice a week in winter, sucks. The cold is unshakable for four hours. I wonder if we will see an increase in the number of people who die this winter from the cold?
*Some people suffer multiple load shedding- at work; and then later at home. Imagine the frustration!!!
*Traffic lights going out are a real problem- huge source of anger created and time and money lost. Central JHB now has a few pilot(?) solar-powered robots. The biggest risk is that the panels will get stolen. Telkom once found one of their $$$$ panels in a hut, being used as a table top, with 'legs' nailed into the panel....
*Business Day last week had an article about copper cable theft which happens during loadshedding (They sit and wait. It's the predictability/schedule that allows them to plan when to steal cable). Search MyBroadband for "cable theft". It is a huge problem, especially when telkom just refuses outright to replace the copper cable.
Click to expand...


Wow Debs, now I feel bad about moaning of our load shedding between 16:00 and 18:30, you have it real bad :o
 
thanks guys for all the input.
For what its worth - even tho load shedding appears to be halted according to todays (april 30th) news - it (and this thread) have still given me much useful info on the thing I'm writing.

Currently I'm 49 pages into the new play :) So I'm not wasting any time, getting the damn story out of my head and onto the page, and then start submitting it to theatres, and see who bites..

And yup, the lights going out, and a lot of of the bits and pieces that folks have mentioned, play a major part in the unfolding story.

I'm figuring the play is probably gonna be somewhere around 100-120 pages max..
working on roughly a minute a page as the standard..)
So I'm somewhere between a third and halfway through already..

For those curious, I'm just telling a simple story, and making the audience like these SA characters to start with...
and then we bring in the nasty violent stuff, and freak out the audience - which, I think, can show dof US folks something of the trauma of SA in action.

Namely that its never the bad people, or the government, who get hurt and worse, its always the average decent guys and families, who're trying to get by, and make lives for themselves, who end up facing the criminals and the horrors..

The working title for now - and this'll be uber familiar to SA folks, given the Alan Paton novel title that everyone knows - is "Die the Beloved Country".

Hopefully in another week or two at most, it'll be done and ready to roll out..
 
LoneGunman said:
thanks guys for all the input.
For what its worth - even tho load shedding appears to be halted according to todays (april 30th) news - it (and this thread) have still given me much useful info on the thing I'm writing.

Currently I'm 49 pages into the new play :) So I'm not wasting any time, getting the damn story out of my head and onto the page, and then start submitting it to theatres, and see who bites..

And yup, the lights going out, and a lot of of the bits and pieces that folks have mentioned, play a major part in the unfolding story.

I'm figuring the play is probably gonna be somewhere around 100-120 pages max..
working on roughly a minute a page as the standard..)
So I'm somewhere between a third and halfway through already..

For those curious, I'm just telling a simple story, and making the audience like these SA characters to start with...
and then we bring in the nasty violent stuff, and freak out the audience - which, I think, can show dof US folks something of the trauma of SA in action.

Namely that its never the bad people, or the government, who get hurt and worse, its always the average decent guys and families, who're trying to get by, and make lives for themselves, who end up facing the criminals and the horrors..

The working title for now - and this'll be uber familiar to SA folks, given the Alan Paton novel title that everyone knows - is "Die the Beloved Country".

Hopefully in another week or two at most, it'll be done and ready to roll out..
Click to expand...

Looks like you might have to write another quite shortly....sort of a Part i and Part ii? It would appear there is a strong likelihood that the powercuts are being stopped merely for the duration of something called the Tourist Indaba. So as not to freak out overseas visitors attending....?
They are likely to resume whenever this is finished. I have no details....
 
It seems as Saffers there's 4 things we can count on death, taxes, crime and load shedding..
 
Yay, our local guavamint listened to us and have changed the schedules. Previously we were loadshed every day, most of them for 3 hours. The new schedule indicates that we will only be loadshed every 2nd day for alternating 2 and 3 hour periods.

Strange how this has become good news to me.
 
re "It would appear there is a strong likelihood that the powercuts are being stopped merely for the duration of something called the Tourist Indaba. So as not to freak out overseas visitors attending....?"

went looking for info on that.. found stuff on a 'gaydurban.blogspot' site :)
( http://gaydurban.blogspot.com/2008/05/getting-ready-for-indaba-2008-huge.html )
which led to http://www.indaba-southafrica.co.za/

Hmm, might well have a mention in the piece along the lines that they (Gov) stopped
the load shedding for a while, but now its back..

Now 73 pages in, and in the story, the guava is about to hit the fan in a big way..

Here's my Characters list from the front of the script - being from SA mostly, I figure you guys will probably be able to tell where this story is heading, by just looking at the characters and their descriptions :)

CHARACTERS

BEAUTY A Black South African domestic servant. Mid forties.
JACK A young White schoolboy. 15 years old.
JILL His sister, a university student, 18 years old.
WENDY Their mother, a White South African housewife, late forties.
JOHN Her husband, a South African businessman, mid fifties.
LAURA A young American student, and houseguest. 18 years old.
SIPHO A Black South African man, late twenties.
GIBSON A Zimbabwean Black man, mid twenties.
 
DJStealth said:
Yay, our local guavamint listened to us and have changed the schedules. Previously we were loadshed every day, most of them for 3 hours. The new schedule indicates that we will only be loadshed every 2nd day for alternating 2 and 3 hour periods.

Strange how this has become good news to me.
Click to expand...
I think the better news is that they're hoping to avoid load shedding altogether. http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=116581 According to the Eskom site
ESKOM WILL NOT INITIATE PRE-EMPTIVE/SCHEDULED LOAD SHEDDING DUE TO ENERGY SAVINGS AND EFFICIENCIES BY MUNICIPALITIES AND INDUSTRY.

HOWEVER IN THE EVENT OF THE NETWORK BECOMING STRAINED OR AN UNPLANNED OUTAGE, EMERGENCY LOAD SHEDDING WILL BE CARRIED OUT ACCORDING TO THE PUBLISHED SCHEDULED LOAD SHEDDING SCHEDULES.
Click to expand...
(Emphasis theirs)
 
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