South African Energy News
IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO INVEST IN A SOLAR SYSTEM OR SHOULD YOU WAIT FOR LOAD SHEDDING TO END?
Load shedding started in 2007 and has continued ever since, getting worse every year.
Gov’t have assured us year after year that they are working hard to get it under control and yet the lights keep going out, more and more.
We hear about the fragile and old power generation fleet and how fixing this will fix load shedding.
We seldom hear about how the distribution network, the grid, is also under such strain that if all of the power stations were to suddenly miraculously become 100% operational, we wouldstill suffer load shedding because the grid itself can’t handle it, cannot transmit the energy to where it needs to go. Bringing in new renewable energy won’t help either.
We’ve recently been told about Gov’ts plan to get load shedding under control SOON with their new 10 year plan to expand the grid to be able to distribute the power.
How is a 10 year plan SOON?
Eskom is currently spending R1 Billion per annum on maintaining the grid,well short of the R14 Billion per year that is required to adequately maintain the grid, so where will the expansion capital come from and how does this all lead to load shedding suddenly being brought to an end in less time than the new 10 year plan?
Since load shedding started in 2007 electricity costshave doubled every 4 years.
Has Gov’t done anything up till now to reassure people that they have things under control, are managing the state and SOE’s effectively and profitably, free of corruption?
If your answer is YES, then, rather wait, load shedding will be sorted out very soon.
If your answer is NO, the time to stop your utility bill doubling every few years is NOW.
SOLAR IS CHEAPER THAN ESKOM– SOLAR DOES NOT SUFFER LOADSHEDDING.
ONCE INSTALLED, SOLAR ENERGY IS INFLATION FREE FOR THE NEXT 15 TO 20 YRS.
To find out more about reducing your exposure to Load Shedding, Lost Productivity and Eskom’s inflation and taking control of your energy costs, give us a call.
Solar is the best investment in yourself that you can make.
Sales@axxessdigitalsystems.com www.solar.axessdigitalsystems.com
Tel : 071 226
3335
Eskom is getting worse, not better Daily Investor27 July 2023 https://mybroadband.co.za/news/investing/501774-eskom-is-getting-worse-not-better.html
Eskom is facing an uncertain future in terms of load-shedding as its energy availability factor (EAF) continues to decline. The EAF shows the percentage of time the power station was available for use when it was needed. It is a core measure of performance for any power utility. Energy analyst Chris Yelland posted Eskom’s latest energy availability factor numbers, which showed that its week-on-week EAF for week 28, 2023, stands at 56.28%. This is the second week Eskom’s energy availability factor declined, which is in line with the trend seen in previous years. Yelland further highlighted that the EAF for the first 28 weeks of 2023 stands at 54.00%, 5.28 percentage points lower than the EAF of 59.28% for the same period last year. Simply put, the energy availability factor decline means it has less generation power to serve South Africa’s electricity needs. The lower EAF means that Eskom is experiencing significant electricity shortages this winter. In July, the shortfall ranged between 2,708 MW and 6,929 MW, which forced Eskom to implement stage 6 load-shedding and significant load-curtailment. Apart from the immediate challenge of getting through winter without hitting stage 8 power cuts, Eskom also has a longer-term challenge. In January, Eskom chair Mpho Makwana said they had embarked on a turnaround journey to improve plant performance and reduce load-shedding. Makwana set targets of 60% EAF by 31 March 2023, 65% EAF by 31 March 2024, and 70% by 31 March 2025. Eskom’s plan to end load-shedding was to reach a 60% EAF by March 2023 and improve it to 65% by March 2024 and 70% by March 2025.