Ubersolar

01/10/2024

Eskom data show that a drop in demand and repairs to Kusile largely explain why we’ve had no load shedding for 190 days, but some coal-fired power plants remain a problem.

01/10/2024

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-01-heres-the-data-showing-how-eskom-is-able-to-keep-sas-lights-on/

01/10/2022

Why and How we got here - Eskom today - a great read

How did Eskom hit energy bankruptcy? To quote Hemingway: ‘Gradually, then suddenly.’ We explain how a toxic combination of politics and blind optimism led us into an energy crisis. Now we must face the fact that Eskom’s coal fleet is failing.

25/09/2022

Eskom and municipal electricity tariffs are mind bogglingly difficult to understand. Installing solar water heating will typically reduce monthly electricity bills by 35% to 50%. LED's about 6%.

The amount of electricity you use each month has a significant impact on how much you will pay per unit. Unmonitored, your bill could cost thousands more than necessary.

16/09/2022

After updating some key cost assumptions, Eskom has confirmed that it will be applying for a 32% tariff hike for implementation on April 1, 2023. The State-owned utility is also applying for a 9.74% increase for its subsequent financial year. The increases are outlined in an addendum to Eskom’s fi...

06/09/2022

It is just a matter of time...........

‘Each of us imposes some suffering on our future selves every time we flip on a light switch, buy a plane ticket or fail to vote. Now we all share the responsibility to write the next act. We found a way to engineer devastation, and we can find a way to engineer our way out of it.’ — David Wal...

28/07/2022

The ANC are incapable of doing anything other than decisions that may benefit their pockets. Ideas are easy, implementation is almost impossible and most of the time results in them shooting themselves in the foot. When it comes to energy they ignore the benefits to the public.

After President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of an energy action plan, several stakeholders — from those in civil society to organised business and academia — commented on the government’s new plan to end rolling blackouts and transform the electricity sector in South Africa.

26/07/2022

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, GET A GRIP - Wasn't Ramaphosa the joker who chaired the war room?
Ignore the B-S - take the power back into your own hands!

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night announced what he called an 'energy action plan' to tackle South Africa’s power crisis. This is what the plan entails.

16/06/2022

Even the ANC spin and bu****it cannot alter the course of Eskom's destiny. Let's face it, Eskom is in a su***de death spiral, and the country is progressively 'f----d' by politics and corruption. Time for everybody to take power back into their own hands and go for solar.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan paused to highlight the missing bits in Thursday’s parliamentary debate on ‘the energy crisis and Eskom’s protracted failure’. These included State Capture, the Guptas and the Zondo Commission’s findings on the national power utility.

30/05/2022

Everybody other than government believe renewables are the fastest way out of load shedding.
The result from government is lets pursue gas and nuclear and more coal. Actually the fastest way and lowest cost way is by saving energy, in particular water heating using solar, followed by insulation. What is one of the primary reasons for the morning and evening peak? heating water using geysers, kettles and hot plates. Its simple but they won't see the woods for the trees.

The huge cost of load shedding could have disastrous economic consequences and cause civil unrest that makes July 2021 pale into insignificance. If the problem is tackled realistically, purposefully and urgently with a coordinated emergency plan partnering Eskom and civil society, it is technically....

28/05/2022

Excellent article describing why GAS is really a non starter for SA energy security. Mantashe and ANC will always pursue potential lucrative backhander projects, but renewables as well as being less opportune for brown envelopes, is lower cost and quicker to implement.

A study from a coalition of 86 corporations – including Eskom, Sasol and Shell – shows that very little natural gas is needed to achieve energy security. So why is government and business pushing a plan for a R628-billion spend – perhaps up to R1-trillion – on gas?

16/05/2022

Eskom is a fat cash machine waiting to be seduced or rather r***d by any one with malicious intent.

As fuel prices soar, an ageing Eskom power station in Mpumalanga is the hub of a sophisticated theft operation siphoning off fuel worth millions of rands – with help from corrupt officials, trucking companies and police.