Radio 702: Eskom worried about people going off the grid

[Ockie]

So on 702 this morning they were saying that Eskom is worried about its paying customers going off the grid. This could leave them with a very large reduction in income while still having to maintain the grid and supply the non paying poor with electricity.

The question was asked if you have any sympathy for them? A guy then called in and said absolutely not. You have a situation where many municipalities are marking up electricity prices by 40 - 50% to subsidize their other services, inflating the price of electricity drastically. If Eskom supplied directly many people would not leave the grid because it would me more economical to stay on the grid. With the situation as it is, with high prices, unreliable supply and corruption etc, SCREW THEM.

What do you guys think?

 

[Crowley]

If I could go off the grid I would. I feel sorry for the poor but maybe that would incentivize the municipality to come down harder on the non-payers to make up for the shortfall.

On the flip side it will probably mean higher electricity tariffs which would in turn force more people off the grid. It is a vicious circle.

 

[Ockie]

If I could go off the grid I would. I feel sorry for the poor but maybe that would incentivize the municipality to come down harder on the non-payers to make up for the shortfall.

On the flip side it will probably mean higher electricity tariffs which would in turn force more people off the grid. It is a vicious circle.

Yip. They mentioned that this is not just a South African thing either. In California some utilities are on the verge of being bankrupt apparently cause so many people there have moved off the grid, but they now have this infrastructure to maintain and support without the income to do it.

 

[Compton_effect]

Not my clowns, not my circus.
They can go **** themselves. I'm going off grid asap.

 

[Compton_effect]

Not my clowns, not my circus.
They can go **** themselves. I'm going off grid asap.

 

[Enzo Matrix]

Not my clowns, not my circus.
They can go **** themselves. I'm going off grid asap.

Amen brother, im thinking of putting my entire year's saving and bonus and fking Eskom where they are fking us all the time

 

[Enzo Matrix]

Bring on Tesla home UPS:

http://www.cnet.com/news/tesla-to-make-battery-for-in-home-use-production-to-begin-in-6-months/

Electric-car maker Tesla is getting into the home-battery business, the company confirmed during an earnings call Wednesday.

Speaking to investors, Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel said his company plans to unveil consumer batteries that will power a person's home or business "fairly soon." He went on to say that it's possible the product could be unveiled "in the next month or two" and that production on the batteries will begin in approximately six months.

 

[Necuno]

So on 702 this morning they were saying that Eskom is worried about its paying customers going off the grid. This could leave them with a very large reduction in income while still having to maintain the grid and supply the non paying poor with electricity.

The question was asked if you have any sympathy for them? A guy then called in and said absolutely not. You have a situation where many municipalities are marking up electricity prices by 40 - 50% to subsidize their other services, inflating the price of electricity drastically. If Eskom supplied directly many people would not leave the grid because it would me more economical to stay on the grid. With the situation as it is, with high prices, unreliable supply and corruption etc, SCREW THEM.

What do you guys think?

Time to really do something about this? Because just getting of the grid is not going to fix the rest our problems. It might be a small start, but it is still an untruth.

 

[crackersa]

taxes will just go up.

or business will carry the short fall which means goods and services prices will go up.

 

[spiff]

FORK ESCUM!!

they forked us around for 20yrs - I'm going off grid and I won't feed back power till they match me unit for unit!

 

[itareanlnotani]

I'm off the grid already in one location.

Will have more of my properties off the grid in a few months too.
I have zero sympathy for the Municipalities.

They could have legislated things to be easier to connect, and feed back to the grid.
Solar should be encouraged, so that it assists with Eskoms issues. I would have been happy to feed back, rather than spend another large sum on batteries. Instead they've made it extremely financially unviable, and full of red tape.
Given the unreliability of the grid, and the price increases we've been seeing, I think I've made a good decision.

Its a lot of money, but I have peace of mind - my costs are predictable (and lower than before), my reliability is up, and I'm not subject to loadshedding.

 

[Sinbad]

FORK ESCUM!!

they forked us around for 20yrs - I'm going off grid and I won't feed back power till they match me unit for unit!

No, eskom did not mess you around. The ANC did. Get it right.

 

[Sinbad]

I'm off the grid already in one location.

Will have more of my properties off the grid in a few months too.
I have zero sympathy for the Municipalities.

They could have legislated things to be easier to connect, and feed back to the grid.
Solar should be encouraged, so that it assists with Eskoms issues. I would have been happy to feed back, rather than spend another large sum on batteries. Instead they've made it extremely financially unviable, and full of red tape.
Given the unreliability of the grid, and the price increases we've been seeing, I think I've made a good decision.

Its a lot of money, but I have peace of mind - my costs are predictable (and lower than before), my reliability is up, and I'm not subject to loadshedding.

Plus one million.

 

[Mortymoose]

I was in a meeting last week with a store developer from Cape Town.

I was enquiring about how many stores down south were on solar.... very few he reckons.... but up in Namibia a number of retailers have installed solar on their roofs and in some cases run their entire store from solar during daylight hours.... others have energy savings of around 70%.

The developer reckons that South Africa store owners do not seem in a hurry to switch....

I know we are looking at it.....

 

[Marakker]

Eskom's product is unreliable and expensive, why should I pay more for less?

 

[Ancalagon]

So on 702 this morning they were saying that Eskom is worried about its paying customers going off the grid. This could leave them with a very large reduction in income while still having to maintain the grid and supply the non paying poor with electricity.

The question was asked if you have any sympathy for them? A guy then called in and said absolutely not. You have a situation where many municipalities are marking up electricity prices by 40 - 50% to subsidize their other services, inflating the price of electricity drastically. If Eskom supplied directly many people would not leave the grid because it would me more economical to stay on the grid. With the situation as it is, with high prices, unreliable supply and corruption etc, SCREW THEM.

What do you guys think?

This change in strategy is a large part of the problem, as is the insistence upon BEE contractors.

Had they focused on making electricity cheap instead of free, ironically they would have been able to supply more people with power, and because there would not have been power worries, the economy would be in a better state, which means more people would have jobs.

Say what you want about the evils of apartheid, but they did a good job with ESKOM.

 

[grok]

Ah, that famous lack of insight & planning again.. like when they begged people to use less without considering how their bottom line was going to be affected. Reason people are going off grid is because Eskom's become expensive & unreliable.. plus dat corrupt BEE!

Hope you die out like the dodo, either way GFY for ruining one of the best companies in Africa.

 

[Anthro]

If I was able to now, I would immediately go off the grid for good.
It will be beneficial to my pocket, and for the environment

[TINFOIL HAT MODE]
Who is willing to take bets that the power ships currently being discussed will come into play, and that the ANC has a hand somewhere in the pie with the contracts/ ?

 

[ellyally]

If I was able to now, I would immediately go off the grid for good.
It will be beneficial to my pocket, and for the environment

[TINFOIL HAT MODE]
Who is willing to take bets that the power ships currently being discussed will come into play, and that the ANC has a hand somewhere in the pie with the contracts/ ?

I'm sure billions will be paid out somewhere, but as for them actually reaching our shores and being used, better chance of getting Medupi online by 2050. In all probability, unions will start flapping their jaws about stealing jobs/giving jobs to internationals or some other twaddle, more strikes etc, government will give in to unions as always, contracts will be 'cancelled', billions will be 'lost', we'll still be in the dark.

 

[creeper]

The sad part about this is that it is ESKOMs own fault. If they did a customer market analysis, they would've realized that those paying for their product will also try to find alternatives if they can't provide anymore. The problem isn't the middle to upper class citizen. It is the big companies that are the threat. I am aware of a few big mines and other industrial companies looking to do the same.

It will also impact municipalities as a big portion of income is from electricity. It will kill their cashcow

At the end. My bet is when the govt realises the decrease in revenue, they will create a new tax to fill the shortfall.