Which Bills Can I pay online with Powertime?

Powertime customers can now pay bills from over 400 bill issuers and charities, as well as any municipal bill (electricity, water, rates, taxes) and many others, as long as it has an EasyPay number. The <<<<< EasyPay number >>>> can be found at the bottom of the bill.

Bill can be paid using any supported payment method: credit card, EFT and via your PayGenius electronic wallet.

This new free service offered by Powertime includes:

• paying all your bills in one click, at any time and from anywhere
• managing multiple bills from the same account
• settling the full amount or only part of your bill at a time
• managing your budget thanks to the bill payment history
• monthly spending report via the PowerStream report

The diversification of our services is an opportunity for us to extend and improve the customer experience on the Powertime platform.” says Sebastien Lacour, Powertime’s Managing Director. Powertime takes into account the constantly changing customer’s needs and focuses on adapting its offer to meet the new demand.

Here is the list of supported bill issuers on Powertime:

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South Africans have again been cautioned to become acclimated to control power outages for essentially the following 5 years.

The force utility executed stage two burden shedding as it battles to recuperate from various breakdowns.

Energy expert Ted Blom blames Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter: Eighteen months ago, he said he would have all the plants refurbished and that load shedding would end. Earlier this year, he has come out to say he is not going to spend that money on refurbishing the plants and it would be a better investment to put into renewable. Blom accepts the accentuation on renewable was misguided: “It is far and away more terrible because, with renewable, they are discussing battery stockpiling. there is no utility size battery stockpiling plants accessible any place on the planet. No nation is running battery stockpiling as reinforcement.”

As load shedding was implemented the last few days, Eskom could conduct some repairs to generating units and the maintenance programme proceed. Despite the fact that they were not able to replenish emergency generation reserves, but could reply on support system.

There are still risks to some generating units, which will pressurize Eskom to implement load shedding at short notice. Electricity still needs to be used sparingly to prevent possibility of load shedding. we also have to note that water pumps are also connected to electricity that supply water to the community meaning water can also be affected by load shedding.

The post Load shedding will likely last for 5 years appeared first on Powertime.

How?

Simply add or save our whatsApp number 0443822484 to your smart phone and refresh your WhatsApp contact list, and you should be able to now send us a message directly to that number!

You can now send us a message or you can send us screen shots of the issue you are experiencing on Android, iOs, Windows mobile and Web as displayed by the images below. So go ahead and test it out! 

Our other support channels include:

Email: support@powertime.co.za

Office line: (021) 911 5611

Messenger: m.me/PowertimeZA

And of course, our live chat feature on our website!

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However it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom with these outages, here are 5 activities suggested by Powertime which you can do when you next get hit with stage 4 load shedding, provided you are free to do them!

1. Take a walk or bike ride – Perhaps you’ve been meaning to hit the gym but haven’t had the chance, or you have been a bit lethargic lately, the 2 hour power outages can be the perfect catalyst to get in shape. Healthy body, healthy mind.
2.  Take a nap – This is a good opportunity to catch up on some much needed zzz’s. If you are at work, I’m sure the boss won’t be able to see you in the dark – well, might be a bit difficult to not get noticed if you snore!
3. Play some board/card games – These days, with the age of technology, we’ve lost our kids to the internet, and computer and console games. Round the family up and have good ‘ol fun with some board games.
4. Socialize – The electricity lines maybe switched down but your cellphone and personal communication lines with your family surely isn’t. Find out how they are
5. Read a book – Like most things we procrastinate, this is probably very high up the list. What better motivation if you literally have very little else to than to pick up a book and read. Who knows, it might crack open views or give you great ideas that could be of great benefit to you!

So there you have it, no need to mop the floor with your mouth when the lights are down,

Get up and do something different!

The post 5 Things To Do When The Lights Go Out appeared first on Powertime.

Please note that we have recently updated our security with regards to adding a credit card to your profile. If you have added your credit card, without passing through the 3D secure process where you authenticate your card by an OTP sent from your bank, the card will be pending approval.

What this means is that one of our support staff, will investigate your account, and make contact with you. Your card will then be approved or declined at this stage. This will take place, Monday to Friday, between 7am and 5pm.

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Rooftop Solar Panels

This is probably the most common and obvious method, if you’re looking into renewable power. Solar panels typically go on your roof, although you can also install them in your yard. If your current roof is nearing the end of its lifespan, you could also consider investing in solar shingles. Where standard rooftop solar panels are mounted on top of your current roof, solar shingles actually take the place of your roof tiles.

Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are commonly found on wind-farms or floating offshore somewhere, but if you have enough real estate you can install a small wind turbine on your property to power your home.

Solar Oven

Maybe you’re not ready to power your entire home with renewable energy as yet. That’s a big project, and maybe it’s just not feasible for various reasons. You can still power a part of your home with renewable energy by building a solar oven. Solar ovens are typically a science fair project, but ovens actually use quite a bit of electricity. Using the sun to passively heat your food is a good way to get started in the world of renewable energy.

Hydro Power

This won’t work for most people, but if your property contains a source of flowing water, you’re in luck. You can divert some or all of the stream or river to flow through a turbine and power your home.

Solar Water Heating

Solar water heaters use the sun to heat a reserve of water, which can then be pumped through your radiators or out your faucets or showerheads. This system is much cheaper than using gas or electricity to heat your water, and is easier to install than solar panels.

Solar Air Conditioning

Air conditioning uses more electricity than almost anything else in your home. Air conditioning can cost you quite a bit amount of money every year, especially if you have central air and you live in a hot climate. Using hot water to cool your home can save you money and help the environment.

Tesla Powerwall

The Powerwall is a large rechargeable battery that can store several kilowatt-hours of electricity. On its own, it can be programmed to charge itself from the grid when electricity is on, and discharge when you’re hit by load-shedding or there is a disruption in the supply.

The post 7 Ways to Solar Power your Home appeared first on Powertime.

Recently, we have been inundated with request about electricity tariffs. Mostly with regards to why certain some users are receiving less units for the same amount in rands than they have previously. For the purposes of budgeting, it would be helpful to know what it cost to run the various appliances in your household. The purpose of this blog is to go into a bit of detail into what exactly an electricity tariff is and how it is measured. We also provide you with a helpful tool to measure how much units you typically use, and this should help you with financial planning with regards to energy spend in your household.

How is electricity measured?

So, how is electricity measured? This is an important question to begin to understand how an electricity tariff works. Electricity power is measured in terms of units, called watts. Most applicances in a household requires well in excess of 1,000 watts in order to function properly, which is why we generally refer to electrical power as kilowatts. Each kilowatt representing 1,000 watts. So how is this calculated? If you take an example of a 100 watt ceiling fan, and use it for two hours a day for 30 days, you have used 100 watts of power for 60 hours.

This calculates as 100 watts x 60 hours = 6000 watt-hours of electrical energy. Or 6 kilowatt-hours (kWh) which is the measurement of electricity units.

What does it mean?

If we look at Eskom’s small customer tariffs (which is most households in South Africa), the electricity used is billed as an energy charge. This is calculated in cents per kilowatt. (c/kWh). Now, this charge (c/kWh) differs per municipality and also differs per household, depending on the tariff they are on. This is a set amount based or determined by how much electricity a house-hold uses. Those who consumes above 600kWh are charged higher tariffs (c/kWh) as those who use below 600 kWh. Remember kWh stands for Kilowatts per Hour, as calculated above

For more a deeper break-down into tariffs, click here

How do I calculate how much my appliances are costing me?

This is where it might become a bit tricky. How do I calculate how much an appliance is costs to operate? Well, once you know which tariff you are on, you need to multiply the amount of kWh a particular appliance uses by the energy rate (c/kWh) applicable to your tariff and divide by 100 to get to the Rand value. So, if we take the above example and use Eskom’s block 1 tariff for residential users, the energy charge is 153,90c/kWh (including VAT) The calculation would be as follows:

6kWh x 153,90c/kWh = 923.4/100= R9.23

So, as we can see in this example, it costs R9,23 to run a 100 watt ceiling fan, 2 hours a day for 30 days. City Power has a very nifty tool that can help you calculate this as well, see this link  for more.

As we know, this is getting costlier every year and it might be time to look at other, more eco-friendly solutions of powering your home.

The post What is an Electricity Tariff? appeared first on Powertime.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) is a technology that converts sunlight (Solar radiation) into direct current electricity by using semiconductors. When the sun hits the semiconductor within the PV cell, electrons are freed and form an electric current.

Several of these could be completed in nine months, including the 2000MW currently under development at Sibanye stillwater who is the leading international precious metals mining company, with a diverse portfolio of platinum group metal and gold operations and projects.

A presentation by the minerals councils at this year’s Mining Indaba showed that at least seven mining companies are either busy developing or considering potential projects.

1. Vendata: Headquartered in Johannesburg South Africa – is a grouping of Zinc assets located in South Africa, Namibia and Ireland, owned by India Vendata Limited. Vendata plans to add 2000MW of self-generating capacity to its operations in the Northern Cape within the next three years.
2. The Goldfields South Deep Mine: Is located in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa and one of the world’s biggest gold mines. It is also the seventh deepest mine in the world with a depth of 2,995m below the surface. the mining company plans to add 40MW of solar power, supplemented by another 23MW of diesel generation within the next year.
3. Anglo American is another industry heavyweight which plans to add a solar generating plant at one of its mines.

The post Mining companies plan on Electricity appeared first on Powertime.

Solidarity’s legal process started after the congress of South African Trade Unions suggested a plan to create a “special purpose finance vehicle” which involved, what is called a social compact between government, the PIC, the development Bank of southern African and the industrial Development Corporation to bring Eskom’s debt down.

This proposal, which included 26 other points to assist the struggling power utility, was a basis for talks between government, business and unions. Solidarity voices its concerns with the trustees of the Government Employees Pension Funds (GEPF) and  the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). The PIC invests on behalf of the GEPF and some other funds. It manages over R2 Trillion in assets. GEPF said it had not been consulted about the plan and the PIC has not yet commented.

Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann, stated that “It is not in the interest of the workers to fund bankrupt entities” and he also added that Union;s plan may include obtaining a court interdict.

He later stated Solidarity’s main goal is not going to court but to find a solution to “this bad idea”. He continues by saying that “Using pensioners’ money to bail out Eskom will be a major mistake. Workers should not accept the controversial to fund Eskom from the GEPF.

Background of Solidarity

The solidarity of today dates back to 22 June 1902 therefore the solidarity has more than 110 years’ experience in South Africa’s labour market. In 1913 the trade union was named Mineworkers’ Union, in 2001 the MWU changed to MWU-Solidarity and since 2002 the trade union has been known as Solidarity.

The main function is Solidarity is to protect its members in the work place and Solidarity does this though its labour services department who protects thousands of collection and individual members in many different industries across the country. For more information on Solidarity please click here

The post Bailout Eskom’s plan was rejected by Solidarity. appeared first on Powertime.

• Between our energy use and the environment, there is a direct connection, although it may not be that apparent.
• By consuming less power, the amount of toxic fumes released by power plants is reduced, the earth’s natural resources are conserved and ecosystems protected from destruction.
• You will be contributing to a healthier and happier world by taking steps to reduce your energy consumption.

Climate change prevention and protecting the air:

• Decreasing power plant emissions is maybe the most notable way energy reducing helps the environment.
• Most power plants burn coal, crude oil or other fossil fuels for generating electricity. This is a relatively inexpensive way of creating energy, but our planet pays the price. Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and Nitrogen oxides are just a few of the by-products that come from the traditional methods of power generation.
• Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which accounts for the majority of all airborne pollution. When released into the air, the sun’s warmth is absorbed and the heat is kept in our atmosphere.
• The effects of greenhouse gas emissions include:

1. Rising temperatures, heat waves and drought
2. Smog and acid rain
3. Abnormal weather patterns
4. Higher sea levels
5. Increased intensively of natural disasters

• The amounts of electricity power plants have to make are reduced by cutting back on energy consumption. This will eventually reduce the amount of fossil fuels that are burned each day.

Conservation of limited natural resources: 

Cutting back on energy use also helps conserve limited natural resources. Lesser demand for harvesting fossil fuels are created by a lesser demand for energy. As fossil fuels become increasingly scarce, they will become extremely expensive.

Save ecosystems and animals: 

Animals and ecosystems can also be harmed by excessive energy use. Habitats on land and in the ocean are destroyed by mining, logging and material extraction associated with the provision of fossil fuels. One of the main reasons that biodiversity is disappearing at 1,000 times the normal extinction rate is human-induced air pollution. Oil spills, which often occur during the transport of fossil fuels, wreak havoc on underwater species and throw of the chemical balance of our oceans, making it dangerous for humans to swim.

Consume less, conserve more: 

Reducing electricity use in your home- or going off the power grid with solar energy-can benefit the environment, conserve resources and save lives. Although your own energy saving adjustments may seem inconsequential, small steps become great leaps when multiplied by 7 billion.

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