# Interest group forums > Electrical Contracting Industry Forum > Electrical Load Shedding Forum >  Heads must roll

## Chatmaster

OK, so I have been thinking about the reaction from government and Eskom about the current situation. Both parties avoid taking serious responsibility for the current state of affairs. Both simply state that we are in this position and need to look forward to fix it.

My take is the following. The same government is in power and the then minister responsible is now our dep. president. Why has there been no action taken by Thabo Mbeki until now? How on earth can people that has been so idiotic still be involved in carrying the responsibility their positions do carry?

The same goes for Eskom. They told government about the state of affairs for the past 10 years, but did nothing more to inform us (Thabo's bosses) about the gross negligence on their part. Instead they told us all a bunch of lies last year, whilst sitting back and watching the clock tick on the bomb. How on earth can we trust any of these individuals, if they are clearly incompetent? Seriously, how on earth can incompetent people be expected to fix this then?

I want to see heads roll, and be assured that they will be replaced by people that are competent. How do you feel about this, given, I am angry that this is costing me a fortune, but doesn't it make sense given the seriousness of the situation?

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## Dave A

At least *somebody* needs to lose their job!

It'll be a scapegoat - but that's the way these things go. If *nobody* loses their job - well let's wait and see before I say much more.

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## IanF

I vote for our President Mbeki to go. Surely that is where the buck stops. Lets ask JZ to do it.

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## duncan drennan

I came across an announcement from May 2005 (google for "eskom energy crisis", it is the first result!).




> *Energy Minister dismisses energy crisis claims*
> 
> Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ncquka last week emphasised that there, Ã¢â¬Åis no power-generation capacity crisisÃ¢â¬Â in South Africa.
> 
> During her Budget Vote speech to Parliament, the Minister said that, while there was a decrease in surplus capacity, measures were being taken to improve the countryÃ¢â¬â¢s power-generation capabilities before demand exceeded capacity. The programme to increase power capacity was progressing well and Eskom was on track to bring a further 3 000 MW onstream from the return to service of mothballed power stations, she said.
> 
> Further, a tender process had begun for the procurement of 1 000 MW through independent power producers, scheduled for commissioning in 2008.
> 
> A number of other feasibility studies were under way for future power development opportunities, with a focus on renewable and environment-friendly energy sources.
> ...

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## Dave A

lol - on the Eskom website too.

Reckon they were making sure there was a record of the statement?

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## Chatmaster

In my opinion that doesn't get Eskom of the hook. They still lied last year and also we as the public was not informed of the true state of our electricity.

This mentality that the government is acting like they are royalty is bs, they report to us and are only our employees imo it is time entities like Eskom get that through their sculls as well.

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## Dave A

Some of the people in the firing line.



> Public enterprises minister Alec Erwin and Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga have received an avalanche of criticism over the way they have handled the energy crisis and the manner in which it has affected the mining industry.
> 
> Democratic Alliance minerals and energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt said the lack of political accountability was the biggest problem.
> 
> While deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the former minister of minerals and energy, had apologised for the government underestimating economic growth, Schmidt said both Erwin and his predecessor as public enterprises minister, transport minister Jeff Radebe, should resign. 
> 
> "It would be the honourable thing to do."
> 
> Maroga told a media conference on Friday morning that he was "not aware" of mines being closed even though a letter - allegedly in Maroga's name - was sent out the previous night advising of necessary shutdowns. The letter said key industrial consumers had to reduce their power loads to minimum levels.
> ...


But no sign of anyone's head rolling as yet.

Clearly, whilst everyone else sees a major problem, for the ANC this is merely the inconvenient price of "progress"  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## IanF

Having just watched Carte Blanche the senior management in ESKOM should go. The idiot from Eskom could not give a straight answer as to whether they were exporting power. It seems as Eskom screwed the BEE transporters of coal so they have none. No coal means no power. They should all go.

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## murdock

well it looks looks like zuma and his band of merry comrades will get their glory.

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## Dave A

> Having just watched Carte Blanche the senior management in ESKOM should go.


I didn't watch Carte Blanche last night, but I've just had a detailed account of it and by the sounds of things, you are so right.

The bottleneck, it seems, is getting the coal from the mines to the power station. *The blackouts are because the power stations do not have enough coal on hand to burn!*

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## Chatmaster

Does anyone have more info on the Carte Blanche program. I also missed it.

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## IanF

The link is Carte Blanche Transcript One of the most comprehensive reports to come on this issue.  :Rant1: 
Here is a telling part:
"The current spate of blackouts started on Monday, 14 January and is still ongoing. The public has been told that it's due to a high consumer demand.

Or is the truth actually that Eskom's power production has reached an all time low?

This confidential report shows just that. On the 1 February last year - during the maintenance cycle - Eskom's output was more than 32 000mW. But this Thursday it spiralled to a debilitating low of 27 000mW.

When you examine this page, the reason becomes obvious. All these units were out of service.

The total capacity loss was over 9 000mW - enough to power three cities the size of Johannesburg.

Steve: 'We have unplanned outages. That is something that has been increasing slightly lately. Although the incidents of unplanned outages of Eskom plants is still very, very good when we compare it to international benchmarks.'"

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## Dave A

Thanks, Ian. I'm reading it now. Hot stuff!

I just got to the bit that had my bud fuming this morning:



> Derek: 'But you have got less than half of the staff you had 15 years ago?'
> 
> Steve: 'Yes, and that just shows how inefficient Eskom was 15 years ago.'
> 
> Derek: 'But at least they were producing enough power. They had an excess capacity.'
> 
> Steve: 'They had an excess capacity and you can argue that: *is an excess capacity better than a shortage? Both of them are negative.'*


F'in asshole  :Rant1:

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## Dave A

Here's another:



> Alec (Irwin): 'The argument that there has been a loss of skills is really, in our view, trying to score a political point.'


So we can ignore the fact that it is true then, can we?

 :Crazy:   :Censored:

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## Debbiedle

> Over the past ten years the utility giant has pocketed enormous profits. In 2006 this amounted to R6.45-billion, an increase of 39 percent from 2005.


This is what gets me!  How hard did you work for your profits and did they reach even 0,1% of these figures?

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## duncan drennan

I thought you might like this line from the government's statement on Friday,




> In a sense we are the victims of our own success.

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## Chatmaster

OK, I am more determined than ever before. I WANT HEADS TO ROLL!
If there is one thing that complete messes with my head, it is idiots that give us the political "no answer" as an answer. WTH is wrong with these people? Are they so thick and dumb as to think we do not know they are incompetent? They must go the lot of them. Their actions so far is criminal!  :Rant1:  They belong in jail! They sabotaged the country successfully and they still have jobs! They shouldn't have jobs, they belong in jail! This is above comprehension. 




> Alec Irwin (Minister of Public Enterprises): 'The underlying problem is the very significant rise in demand - particularly over the past few years - resulting from an economy working at full capacity, the rising standards of living with close on 3.5 million homes having access to electricity since 1994. In this sense, we are the victims of our own success.'


Mmmmm, does this idiot have any kind of education, seriously! I mean who can believe that whilst it is clear to everyone else that Eskom is generating less electricity than before, he actually believes his own statement?




> Steve: 'They had an excess capacity and you can argue that: is an excess capacity better than a shortage? Both of them are negative.'


OK, does this guy have half a brain?




> However, Eskom's Steve Lennon insists that wet coal remains a major problem and, when pressed to supply Carte Blanche with figures of the actual stockpiles at the power stations, he declined.
> 
> Derek: 'Can you give us a print-out of how much coal is being delivered to those stations?'
> 
> Steve: 'We can give you the big picture on coal, but to give you the detail on every single power station and the coal situation is not our policy.'
> 
> Derek: 'Why not?'
> 
> Steve: 'Because there is obviously security issues that relate to the security of the supply to those power stations. But what I can say is that we have never been in the situation where our stockpiles have gotten to a zero or negative situation.'


So are we all going to steal coal to make diamonds?




> Derek: 'So why do they deserve R57-million?'
> 
> Steve: 'It is our goal to continue to produce electricity.'


What an idiot! :Boxing: 




> This diagram from Eskom's intranet is for internal use only. It shows the megawatts that Eskom exports at a specific time to South Africa's neighbouring states. This week, while our gold mines were shut down, Eskom sent 761mW to the MOZAL aluminium smelter in Maputo.
> 
> At the same time, Swaziland was receiving 476mW, Botswana 103mW, Namibia 126mW and Zimbabwe 51mW.
> 
> Added up, this is more than 1 500mW six times the amount that Johannesburg was forced to load shed daily.


They have been lying all along!

OK, my summary after reading the transcript. Eskom has been run by criminals that tried their best to steal Eskom and the country blind without being criminally liable. If you don't pay transporters and you have to pay less than half the personnel it equals more profits and big bonuses.

This in my view is a clear cut criminal case. They should all go to jail for fraud and sabotage.




> And the solution is easy, says Eskom's CEO Jacob Maroga, 'Just save electricity'.


So I can steal you blind for a little longer  :EEK!:  Gotta love that!

I want action, I want action now! Patricia De lile has my full support that the entire cabinet and Thabo should go. Eskom as far as I am concerned are being run by criminals that have been making monkeys out of all of us for years.

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## Dave A

You had me scratching around for something on Patricia's comments - and found this:



> Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille accused Mbeki and his government of having ignored warnings about the crunch in electricity supplies.
> 
> "President Mbeki and his Cabinet have failed the South African people," De Lille said in a statement.
> 
> "The failure to plan, despite documented warnings almost 10 years ago, to avert a national electricity crisis, has already cost our country billions of rand in lost production and tax revenue, which threatens the job security and livelihoods of millions of South Africans."
> 
> The ID, with only five seats in the African National Congress (ANC)-dominated 400-seat Parliament, is unlikely to win the support of a majority but the motion is highly symbolic.
> 
> De Lille said it would be brought at the first sitting of Parliament's National Assembly on February 12, a few days after Mbeki's annual State of the Nation address.
> ...


It would be interesting to see this one go to a vote.

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## Chatmaster

I am a big supporter of the News bulletins, they had an interview with her last night on 2 I think. As far as the ANC majority vote is concerned, I am a bit unsure what to expect with Zuma being the new ANC president anything is possible. Maybe it is just the little optimist in me hoping that some of them actually do their duty :Whistling: 

I cannot help it this issue makes me angry, after the post I actually felt bad about my hard words, but what to do when you are being treated like an idiot?

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## Dave A

You read my mind. There's a rather unique outside chance of an upset.

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## duncan drennan

I must say, I would prefer not to have a quite overthrow happen in the background while the lights are off. Firing up people over a current issue means they might not be thinking clearly about the implications of their actions.

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## Debbiedle

Okay, I know this is uncalled for on such a serious thread, but every time I see "heads must roll!"  I am thinking....they can't , I believe it is because of the ears!  *scuttles away, hanging head in shame for having such a silly light hearted thought at such a seriously dark time...*

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## duncan drennan

:Rofl:  <- head rolling

I thought it had more to do with the brains unbalancing the head....although in this case I don't think we need to worry. We already know that they don't have ears or brains  :Wink:

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## Dave A

We can lose all sorts of things, but as long as we don't lose our sense of humour, it's all tolerable.

Nice one, Debbie.

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## Dave A

There isn't much sign of heads rolling any time soon going by the special sitting of parliament on the electricity crisis today.




> South Africans can save electricity by going to sleep earlier and boiling less water, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica told Parliament on Wednesday. 
> 
> Ã¢â¬ÅGo to sleep earlier so that you can grow and be cleverer. Boil less water; use the microwave rather than the stove; take a shower and not a shallow bath,Ã¢â¬Â she told a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the power crisis. 
> 
> She was unveiling a 10-point plan to encourage South Africans to change their electricity-usage habits. Amid much heckling and jeering from some MPs, she criticised calls from Ã¢â¬Åsome quartersÃ¢â¬Â to identify culprits and castigate them. Ã¢â¬ÅCrucify, crucify, crucify,Ã¢â¬Â she said.
> full report from M&G here

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## Chatmaster

The thing is they all feel we must move on and rather look at solutions than trying to find someone to blame. 

Well, I would feel the same if I realized just how pathetic my party has run the country until now and I will also want to forget and hope the country forget if I knew I proved just how incompetent I am. :Embarrassment:

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## wynn

And don't forget there have been no dams built lately, are we waiting for a year of low rainfall to find out that there was no forward planning as well?

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## Chatmaster

You are mentioning a very important point there wynn! Without a doubt we now realise that the incompetence of our great government is even worse than any of us ever expected. I think we need to start digging into other critical matters as well before we have problems that are as serious or maybe more serious. 

I am also concerned about the agriculture in this country. Maybe a good start is to look at where BEE was firmly applied to see how those industries are really doing. I remember having a discussion with a friend the other day about the state of our public roads. He does more travelling than me and it was clear that he was very unhappy with the state of our roads in terms of maintenance and capacity. A trip from 16:00 to 18:00 in the Sandton area, N1 and M1 also highlight that we will soon be grid locked. I suspect that then we will be called names because we are driving in a car alone on the N1,... Mmmmmmmmm sorry, they did that already!

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## Dave A

> A trip from 16:00 to 18:00 in the Sandton area, N1 and M1 also highlight that we will soon be grid locked.


Now that, to me, is a valid time to use the excuse "Victim of our own success."

And they *are* doing some work towards easing the problem. I'm thinking particularly the Gautrain project, but hasn't there been some road widening as well?

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## Chatmaster

I think it is a bit of a complicated thing to just widen the roads. The M1 is pretty much on its max. But one thing that can solve the problem is proper public transport. But they have been talking about that for years and the only thing I ever saw happening was the Gautrain project. However, that will not solve the problem Johannesburg. There is real traffic issues building from both the East and the West Rand and the Gautrain will not solve the issues there. Ontdekkers, Hendrik Potgieter and Main Reef road are almost at their max at peak hour, imo anyway. There is a crisis looming there...

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## Dave A

I can't help think that government has got so used to been able to talk their way out of trouble that they might even believe themselves here.



> South Africa's crippling power crisis will not put off investors, nor limit its ability to stage the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Wednesday.
> 
> Rolling power cuts have plagued homes, businesses and the crucial mining industry in South Africa for weeks and are likely to continue for about five years, according to state power utility Eskom.
> 
> South Africa's economy has flourished for the last several years, although it still lags its emerging-market peers in the area of foreign investment and has desperately tried to lure investors since the end of apartheid in 1994.
> 
> The Soccer World Cup was seen as an ideal way of marketing the country to tourists and drawing much-needed foreign money.
> 
> Erwin said energy issues would not derail these efforts.
> ...


Meantime, back in the real world



> "This was always seen as a leading developing country, the power crisis has done immense damage to that reputation," Ian Cockerill, Gold Fields chief executive officer said.
> 
> "My cellphone's melted," he told reporters when asked if overseas shareholders in Gold Fields were worried. 
> 
> "They are not best pleased at all."
> from IOL here


Yep! The *real* power of Alec Irwin's hot air is out on show.



> In a surprise move, South African electricity utility Eskom has withdrawn its authorisation for the mining industry to increase its electricity use from 80% to 90% on Thursday.
> 
> News of the decision came from Gold Fields, the world's fourth-largest gold producer, which informed the media in a statement. 
> 
> "Gold Fields is disappointed to confirm that Eskom has informed the company that authorisation to increase electricity load from 80% to 90% by this evening, has been temporarily withdrawn in order to 'protect further frequency decay and system instability'," the gold producer said. 
> 
> "To comply with this instruction, and in the interest of safety, production at Gold Fields' operations is being pulled back to the 80% power level," it said. 
> 
> Gold Fields, which reported its December quarter results earlier on Thursday, has already warned that it may be forced to close shafts and trim capital expenditure in light of the current power crisis.
> ...


And in case you think it's just mining, look at the downstream effects here



> Anglo Platinum, the world's top producer of the metal used to make jewellery and clean car exhausts, said it was still mining at full capacity, also on the 80 percent power supply, but was not processing the metal. The company hoped more electricity would be available next week for that to take place.
> from IOL here


Alec, you're making a damn fool of yourself. If Eskom thought they could spirit more power out of hot air, they would have hooked up the entire cabinet by now.

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## duncan drennan

> Alec, you're making a damn fool of yourself. If Eskom thought they could spirit more power out of hot air, they would have hooked up the entire cabinet by now.


Hehehe  :Big Grin:  Did anyone catch the last few minutes of e-News last night? They did a little skiet piece of Alec Erwin over the years denying that we have an energy crisis, and then ended off with his recent statement that we have an energy crisis. As the anchor said, "I'm sure Alec Erwin does not like it that we are always watching." (ending with a large smile)

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## Chatmaster

I am seriously wondering how many people will be willing to join in legal action against Eskom. That is if it is at all possible to do so.

But lets look at the facts we are supplied with by the press.

They have lied to usThey continue to lie to usThey have paid themselves huge bonuses last one is said to be 57Mil. These were as I understand performance bonuses and probably based on increased profits. These profits were clearly reached by cutting more than 50% of their staff, reducing the purchase of coal and therefore less expenses by feeding of their surpluses, and by increasing exports.
All of the above seems to be factual and if the latest article by fin24 is true, they increased their exports and decreased their import of electricity as well. Now on paper it must look very impressive as far as the profits are concerned for the company, but the damage done by their clear stupidity is much bigger than their profits on paper.

So my question is this. Just how much support will there be for taking the step to take these idiots to court. If something like that happens, should it be a criminal or civil case? Maybe one of our well learned attorneys here can be helpful in this.

IMO, there is a strong possibility to get them criminally. Based on the facts of the past few weeks, can it be seen as committing fraud, to clearly mislead government on the true reasons for not being able to supply electricity and bring the country to its knees? The motivation is clearly to be able to acquire bonuses in their millions by smartly taking the necessary expenses that makes the company successful and lowering their staff expenses by more than 50%. 

By continuing what they have done until now by importing less (Decrease expenses), and exporting more (increased profits) they are clearly guilty of sabotage. 

I am pretty sure that if a prosecutor has to sit and look at this scenario for just a few minutes, it will be possible to get at least a dozen criminal charges against them.

Is it realistic to say that this can be possible. Can Eskom even be taken to the courts for this?

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## Dave A

It looks like Jacob Maroga agrees with you, Chatmaster.



> "The unavoidable load shedding of January left South Africans with a sense of anger and frustration, which was completely justified," said Maroga in a statement issued after the press briefing. "It is a time for leadership and accountability.
> from M&G article here


Oops! Maybe I misunderstood that. Perhaps the accountability only starts *now*  :Stick Out Tongue: 

Anyway, more on Eskom's plan moving forward from the same article:



> The power situation has eased somewhat over the past few days and there has been no load-shedding since February 4, Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga told reporters on Thursday in Sunninghill, near Johannesburg. 
> 
> Maroga was announcing measures to be taken by Eskom to resolve the country's electricity crisis, following the announcement of the government's national recovery plan to tackle the emergency.
> 
> "Although the solution to this problem does not lie with Eskom alone -- in fact, Eskom cannot build new power stations fast enough to meet South Africa's demand -- it is our duty to deliver to South Africans a plan that is workable and achievable; a plan that demonstrates Eskom's commitment to providing security of supply, in partnership, with all our stakeholders; a plan that can form the basis of a national rallying cry or a movement in which each and every one of us plays a crucial role, for the sake of our nation's future."
> 
> Eskom's mandate is to re-establish its ability to provide a secure power supply. A plan to achieve this has already started and will run until 2012, when Eskom's first base-load power station will come on line.
> 
> The plan has three phases: stabilisation (until the end of February), to restore 4 000MW to the system; power rationing (March to July); and power conservation and supply-side options (August 2008 to 2012).


Oh yes - Maroga also said mines are "voluntarily" reducing power by 10% for the next three years.

I suppose we're volunteering for power rationing too, then.

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## duncan drennan

> I suppose we're volunteering for power rationing too, then.


Maybe just to spin this positively....I volunteer to be a part of the rationing (along with the mines), because I believe that it is in my best interests (looking out for numero uno). As long as the economy is growing it is a heck of a lot easier to make money (or keep your job if you are employed).

Seems like a reasonable thing to put your hand up for.

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## Dave A

Duncan, we're between a rock and a hard place. Given the choice between using less power and no power, I'm sure we're all "volunteering" for less power.

For the mines it's a similar choice. And as far as I can tell, this is nothing to do with using less energy. That open cast mine that had the electrical overhead power feed to boost the trucks out of the pit is now just going diesel for the full haul. No energy efficiency saving and more cost.

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## wynn

Well, you see, the reason is, because, why?
If I am the Prez and I want to make a lot (I mean a lot) of money all I have to do is, at the beginning of my ten year tenure, slowly form a "Power Station building company".
Then I create over ten years a shortage of electricity.
I then offer to build these power stations for you and you all cheer me on.
*Its called marketing guys!* wake up and smell the coal fumes!

 :Wink:

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## Dave A

The rule of supply and demand?

You're a real conspiracy theorist, Wynn.  :Stick Out Tongue:

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## twinscythe12332

a killing no doubt is being made. if this was just a way to get us to buy generators, UPS's and the like, I'd say it is working quite well =P. It is amazing how we are being conditioned to this. I guess it's either adapt and survive or cross my arms and ignore it. adapt sounds like a good one to me.

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## Dave A

Some of our citizens are starting to "voice" their displeasure in true South African fashion.



> An entire community just outside Pretoria has gone on the rampage to protest load shedding.
> 
> Hundreds of Ekangala and Bronkhorstspruit residents have taken to the streets for the past three days, stoning cars and buses and burning council buildings, because of what they described as Eskom's "blatant disregard for life".
> 
> On Friday Kungwini Local Municipality's emergency services control room was evacuated following reports that marauding groups were preparing to burn down more council buildings.
> 
> According to paramedics and firefighters who took shelter at the Ekangala police station, clinics in the area were also on high alert.
> 
> An irate businesswoman, Beauty Mtsweni, said she was sick of the daily power cuts.
> ...

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## murdock

what a load of twak...now if you dont save 10 % electricity you are the bad person...wait till winter the demand is going to go up and up never mind saving 10 % you are going to be using 20 % more because of all the heated blankets...heaters...hot baths...etc...etc we are in for a long cold winter...unless you have invested in lots of wood for the fire place...a gas heater and dont forget to stock up on gas...the bottom line is between goverment and eskom they f****up and now they are trying to turn it around and make the man on the street the bad person because he doesnt save 10 %...i just think this whole thing is a joke.

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## Dave A

A question to ask at the moment is how much is the Richards Bay aluminium smelter worth to the South African economy? And compare that to what load shedding is costing our economy.

I didn't know this, but apparently the aluminium oxide ore is being imported from Australia, smelted into aluminium ingots here, then exported again. Other than paying the bills incurred locally, there's no money flow through SA.

Now if the smelter is shut down - no load shedding is required.

I also heard that the current round of load-shedding is, once again, mainly due to coal supply problems.

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## murdock

better still why dont they build a power station specifically for alusaf and send them the bill and charge them 50 % higher rates then we can all carry on as things were before...and in the next 5 years worry about the lack of power again because the chimps still wont spend the money were it is needed...this way it doesnt come out of their budget for expensive cars and parties.

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