Radio 702: Eskom worried about people going off the grid

[Creag]

Regardless of what Eskom does, the cost of electricity has made me think long term to find ways to reduce my energy costs. In my medium term planning is a gas stove. I am also considering gas fired geysers in the kitchen and servants quarters (mainly because I have a courtyard there which I can efficiently do gas from)

Gas fired geysers in the bathrooms is a little more tricky because of their location in the house, but it will remain in a consideration.

Beyond that I am still thinking of solar power to offset some of my consumption. Not sure I could go entirely off the grid, but it isn't being written off just yet.

Whilst I am mindful of the backlash that this could have when consumption by paying consumers drops, Eskom in many respects (or should I say, their masters) have forced many to rethink their consumption, energy saving and alternatives to reduce their reliance and/or get off the grid.

 

[MrGray]

Well they can't have their cake and eat it, as the saying goes. Eskom keeps begging everyone to use less of their product, which is unreliable anyway, so they can hardly whine when consumers do exactly that. Clowns.

 

[heartbroken]

The question was asked if you have any sympathy for them?

None at all, this is their own doing.

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

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!

Well they can't have their cake and eat it

+1 to all of the above. I am using a bit of my savings every month to get away from them. Have solar for all my lights in the house, a gas stove and I am getting a gas geyer soon. After that the solar system will expend to run essentials like fridges and the TV. I will only run things like the pool pump in off peak times so I can pay them even less.

EDIT: I am never back feeding them power, screw them, I will rather give it to my neighbour for free.

They can go and fcku themselves.

 

[Sinbad]

Regardless of what Eskom does, the cost of electricity has made me think long term to find ways to reduce my energy costs. In my medium term planning is a gas stove. I am also considering gas fired geysers in the kitchen and servants quarters (mainly because I have a courtyard there which I can efficiently do gas from)

Gas fired geysers in the bathrooms is a little more tricky because of their location in the house, but it will remain in a consideration.

Beyond that I am still thinking of solar power to offset some of my consumption. Not sure I could go entirely off the grid, but it isn't being written off just yet.

Whilst I am mindful of the backlash that this could have when consumption by paying consumers drops, Eskom in many respects (or should I say, their masters) have forced many to rethink their consumption, energy saving and alternatives to reduce their reliance and/or get off the grid.

You can get a single gas geyser that will run the whole house...
I have one of these: http://www.gas-man.co.za/p/591771/gas-geyser-forced-exhaust-20-lt-min-atlas

 

[qwertydudeza]

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?

Shew, broken telephone or worries me how well people listen.

This has nothing to do with Eskom.
it is municipalities like City Power of Joburg who are worried.
City Power have their own power from Calvin (though very small % of there needs) and balance from Eskom. They resell that at a profit (marked up). if people go off the grid, the municipality who use Electricity profit to subsidize their delivery of services are of concern.

The sympathy questions was related to the lose of income (profit) for City Power.

All Joburg council will do is increase rates for the short fall or introduce an off the grid tax as some countries have done elsewhere.

 

[oober]

Going off-grid is great and all but currently it's not economical. Current battery storage needs to become 3-5 times cheaper or electricity needs to be +-400% more expensive before it will start making sense. We have reached PV parity but not storage parity.

We currently use about 7 units per 24 hour cycle at night. At current prices that costs us about R8 for those 7 units. If you take that usage into account and buy 7kW worth of usable battery storage and look at cycles and battery life it works out between R30-R70 for that 7 units.

So it makes more sense to just buy enough storage to survive say 4 hours of load-shedding. Obviously if the grid becomes more unstable and load-shedding starts getting longer the picture will change.

 

[Sneeky]

The municipalities will just up the prices of other services (provided or not) to compensate for loss of electricity revenue if people start falling off the grid in vast numbers.

In the end you will pay one way or another.

 

[Recruitsmiths]

Developers need to take the lead & initiative in supplying all new homes with solar power - build it into the price (+/- R125K), according to estimates..?
That will eliminate future demand from Eskom, enabling them to work on fixing existing structures and supplies.. ..not forgetting their management and BEE policies.

 

[Sneeky]

Developers need to take the lead & initiative in supplying all new homes with solar power - build it into the price (+/- R125K), according to estimates..?
That will eliminate future demand from Eskom, enabling them to work on fixing existing structures and supplies.. ..not forgetting their management and BEE policies.

Yeah spot on, anyone building a home nowdays should insist on flexibility, silly not to.

 

[Seriously]

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

BS. Escum managers and incumbents defrauded their revenue. Both are guilty and connected!

 

[Sinbad]

BS. Escum managers and incumbents defrauded their revenue. Both are guilty and connected!

Not BS.

The ANC did not allow Eskom to expand when they requested capex in 1998. The ANC then told eskom to keep the lights on at all costs after 2008, this lead to the massive maintenance backlog in existence today as eskom were not allowed to perform routine maintenance.
The ANC has also created a culture of non-payment, and of violence when power is cut off because of non-payment.
The Government as owner of eskom has set the BEE targets and transformation policies and enforced them on Eskom.

 

[Sneeky]

Not BS.

The ANC did not allow Eskom to expand when they requested capex in 1998. The ANC then told eskom to keep the lights on at all costs after 2008, this lead to the massive maintenance backlog in existence today as eskom were not allowed to perform routine maintenance.
The ANC has also created a culture of non-payment, and of violence when power is cut off because of non-payment.
The Government as owner of eskom has set the BEE targets and transformation policies and enforced them on Eskom.

Yup
Eskom even told them when we were going to run short of leccy and they were spot on with their forecasts and prediction.
There is no shouldering of blame here, it's the brain dead at Luthuli House that carry this one all on their own. Eskom is a nice deflection of blame for them.

 

[hawker]

Not BS.

The ANC did not allow Eskom to expand when they requested capex in 1998. The ANC then told eskom to keep the lights on at all costs after 2008, this lead to the massive maintenance backlog in existence today as eskom were not allowed to perform routine maintenance.
The ANC has also created a culture of non-payment, and of violence when power is cut off because of non-payment.
The Government as owner of eskom has set the BEE targets and transformation policies and enforced them on Eskom.

+1

It's just going to get worse...

 

[marine1]

We should l go off the grid and bring eskom and the government to its knees

 

[The_Unbeliever]

aw shame, is the parastatal getting worried.... their fault for killing the goose that lays golden eggs...

 

[The_Unbeliever]

We should l go off the grid and bring eskom and the government to its knees

And start withholding taxes as well...

 

[marine1]

And start withholding taxes as well...

If only we could all stand together

 

[Nerfherder]

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

Yip...

and I see people getting their panties in a knot about the Municipality... its not some clandestine mega organisation... it YOU.

Even if the DA or whoever take over that municipality, its you the property owner that takes the fall for that organisation..
You don NOT want your municipality to fail.

 

[Nerfherder]

We should l go off the grid and bring eskom and the government to its knees

What good will that do exactly ?

You sound like Malema.

 

[supersunbird]

Yip...

and I see people getting their panties in a knot about the Municipality... its not some clandestine mega organisation... it YOU.

Even if the DA or whoever take over that municipality, its you the property owner that takes the fall for that organisation..
You don NOT want your municipality to fail.

Well how else does one get those retards with the right to vote (most of them probably not property owners) to vote for a better party except by having it fail so bad even they change their minds?