In these dark times (pun intended), this is an ongoing argument. The article link below goes to the trouble of doing the math based on initial outlay and running costs of a generator. The one exclusion on the generator was the cost of servicing the unit every 100 hours at another R1000 a pop! Then…
Read MoreThe current ‘government’ was warned in Thabo Mbeki’s time that power supply was going to become a major issue if projects were not implemented. That was pre-2007. This was then used as a get rich quick scheme by numerous ANC cadres as well as their investment arm via a Hitachi ‘JV’. By JV they mean…
Read MoreSituated in the East Rand, is Eskom’s 24/7/365 power management centre. This is where they can see what happens to power and when. The recent stage 4 load shedding was as close to stage 5 as we have come. Of Eskom’s coal power fleet, 50% were either having maintenance done or had tripped. 25% of…
Read MoreInsurers are some of the most profitable companies in any country. Limiting risk and protecting their margins by repudiating claims comes with the territory. We all know of someone whose are claims repudiated or adjusted based on some minor infraction. you are over/under insured. It wasn’t declared or itemised, it is not covered under clause…
Read MoreAndre De Ruyter is taking flak from all sides. His position is unenviable. He is carrying the can for troubles dating back to 2007 when the then president Mbheki was warned that the country needed to develop more power generation. He made the poor decision to do nothing. The straw to break the camels back…
Read More2021 was Eskom’s worst performance since inception in terms of number of days of load shedding/reduction. The aging generation plants are sorely in need of maintenance and Kusile and Medupi are still generating nowhere near the capacity they were designed for. It is unlikely they ever will. Ongoing design and construction flaws as well as…
Read MoreSouth Africa has faced its worst bout of load shedding since it became ‘a thing’. Despite numerous attempts at trying to stop the death spiral, Eskom finds itself at odds with those both internally and externally that have been making a killing out of rampant corruption at the expense of the (fast diminishing) taxpayers. Solar…
Read MoreThe recent bout of load shedding has brought South Africa to the brink. Complete lack of political will by Gwede Mantashe to fast track existing renewable solar farms and expedite new ones have been all talk and no action. Not one extra watt of generation has been brought on line since 2017 despite Kusile and…
Read MoreLike many things related to (mis)government, Eskom has seen spiralling production and productivity despite a severely bloated and blatantly uninspired workforce. Increasing debt and a wage bill far out of kilter with the mechanics of the organisation. It is easy to blame de Ruyter for these chain of events, but they were a long time…
Read MoreCyril’s decision to raise the threshold for private power generation to 100MW was met with a standing ovation from the industry and the country as a whole. Gwede was punting 10MW, Industry was pushing 50MW as a minimum. Clearly the huge and unexpected jump in threshold was progress at it’s best. A visionary decision, one…
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