Advantage 

• Wave energy is renewable, you will never run out
• It is environment friendly
• There is a variety of ways to Harness (Lots of ways to gather it)
• No harm to the land
• Less dependency companies for fossil
• Wave energy is very reliable
• A huge amount of energy can be produced in the waves.

Disadvantage 

• Only available to certain locations
• Dependent on wavelength
• Can be nosing to those who live close by
• Cost of production might be enormous

Research has shown that Oceans cover three quarters of the earth’s surface which constitute a natural energy resource in the form of waves. Also in the UK it has been evaluated that the recoverable wave energy resources exceeded the electricity demand. If there is a less that 0.1% of the renewable energy within the oceans that could be translated into electricity it would be very content in the future.

The two basic elements of technology is a collector to capture the wave energy and a turbo generator to convert the wave power into electricity. in the UK wave energy collectors are used in a form of partially submerged shell which seawater is free to enter and leave. When the water enters or leaves, the level of water in the chamber rises or falls.

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Hot Water

No-cost

• Use less hot water – Shower instead of bathing, Do not let the hot water run unnecessarily, use cold water to wash your hands instead.
• Turn your geyser down to 60°C. Turning your geyser down from 70˚C to 60˚C will see a 5% reduction in your hot water electricity bill. In some cases, 55°C is a good option (but not below that for health risk reasons)
• Switch off your geyser when you go away for a few days or more and during peak hours.

Low-cost

• Insulate your water pipes and wrap your geyser in a geyser blanket.
• Install a geyser timer.
• Switch to a low-flow, energy and water efficient aerated showerhead
• Fix leaking hot water taps.

Lighting

No-cost

• Turn off the lights if you leave a room for more than five minutes.
• Maximise sunlight. Open the curtains in the morning rather than turning on lights.

low-cost

• Replace traditional incandescent light bulbs with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
• Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) remain a somewhat more affordable way to save,
• Use solar powered lights in your garden

Appliances

No-Cost

• Switch off all unused appliances at the wall.
• Only use your washing machine once a full load of dirty laundry has accumulated
• Use cold-water or lower heat settings as often as possible.
• Skip the pre-wash cycle for clothes that aren’t particularly dirty
• Never overload your automatic washing machine
• When using a kettle, boil only as much water as you need

Low-Cost

• Invest in a front-loading washing machine instead of a top loader. It uses less water and costs less to operate
• Have the seals in your fridge replaced to keep the cold air in
• Choose a dishwasher model with a no-heat air-drying feature to save even more electricity, if you can’t use a cloth to dry the dishes or let them drip-dry instead.

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Everytime these unplanned breakdown’s occur, Eskom needs to utilize emergency resources of diesel and pumped water storage schemes at a higher rate. This is implemented when unplanned breakdowns rise above 9500MW. This increases the risk over rotational power-cuts to lessen the burden on the grid. In the press release, it was mentioned that they have sufficient diesel to run it;s open cycle gas turbines and water for its pumped storage schemes to supplement the shortage of capacity.

In the statement, they had the following to say :

“The probability of load shedding remains, but will only be implemented if absolutely necessary”

–

So keep your eyes out on any news when it comes to load-shedding, in the next few weeks. But we will definitely be keeping an our out on this for and keep you updated.

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They had extremely hard words for the ailing state-owned entity which was shared in a statement issued by COSATU, Wednesday evening. They slated the power utility for “haemorrhaging” money. This, in part, relates to the besieged power utility having incurred debt in excess of R400bn and suffering a net loss of R21bn in the 2018/2019 financial year.

Last week Eskom chair and acting CEO Jabu Mabuza painted a gloomy picture of Eskom’s finances, saying management was hard at work to revive as much of the entity as possible. Cosatu has called the standard of leadership at Eskom “mediocre”,  and further noted that load shedding is said to have contributed to the contraction of the economy by 3.2% in the first quarter of the year. That is devastating. And it’s no surprise that the rand fell sharply to the dollar, as soon as it was announced that Eskom will be implementing load-shedding. In their statement released to the media on Wednesday night, COSATU further stated:

“The announced load shedding flies in the face of the commitment made by the Minister of Public Enterprises to the Presidential Working Committee meeting at Nedlac (National Economic Development and Labour Council) a mere week ago that Eskom is on top of the situation,”

COSATU called for a pubilc forensic audit of all expenses of Eskom, including all coal supplier contracts.  There was further criticism for the appointment of board chair Jabu Mabuza as acting CEO, calling the appointment “illegitimate”, and saying the decision had “contributed to the erosion of trust in the power utility”. Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that soon, government will announce a new deal to assist Eskom deal with it’s debt crisis. This announcement will be made soon and would appease ratings agencies.

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The energy availability of Eskom’s generation plants is supposed to be as high as 80%, but was last month as low as 69%, an Eskom board member warned recently.

We last saw loadshedding in March this year, after a cyclone in Mozambique affected power imports from the affected country. Eskom also didn’t have enough diesel to power its open cycle gas turbines and this resulted in widespread load-shedding.

“Most of our power stations are in need of maintenance to improve reliability… we do our best to strike the right balance between plant maintenance and keeping the lights on,” said Eskom chairperson and acting CEO Jabu Mabuza.

Headquarters of Eskom, Megawatt park, north of Johannesburg. Eskom generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 45% of the electricity used in Africa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has bentioned that it has a plan to deal with Eskom’s R450bn debt and the new deal to have Eskom split into three seperate units, name;y generation, transmission and distribution, is set to be discussed in cabinet today, with the view to find a swift resolution into how this deal is to be implemented. The economy has taken a hit recently and severe load-shedding, while not completely avoidable, needs to be manage to reduce it’s effect on the economy.

The post Eskom To Implement Stage 2 load-shedding appeared first on Powertime.

Yet, not only that, it would also have major impacts for the economy, as Newcastle is predominately a mining town and with the current climate of high unemployment, we can definitely not afford any more job losses. To further the point he was making, Judge Piet Bezuidenhout also made mention that cutting the electricity supply to the Newcastle municipality would be counter-productive. It would not aid Eskom or bring it any closer to recouping any of the funds that is owed.

The urgent application was brought to court last week by the municipality and provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in a bid to stop Eskom from disrupting the town’s electricity supply. However, the municipality was not let off the hook easily. They have been ordered by the High Court and it’s Judge, to enter into a payment plan. The payment plan entails the municipality committing to a monthly payment to Eskom, in the sum of R30 mllion as of the end of this month.

Cooperative Governance MEC Sipho Hlomuka, went on to say that although the judgement comes as a great relief to the community, it does not exempt the municipality from paying up it’s debt, saying that Newcastle municipality should show a degree of responsibility by committing to it’s financial obligations. The judgement handed down should ensure that this financial responsibility is imposed, or so we hope.

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Experts in the field have weighed in with comments on what the focus should be, and has narrowed this down to 7 things the new CEO would need to have a focus on when navigating through this tempestuous period

1. They must look forward, not backward – Eskom has been tarnished, it’s reputation completely destroyed and the new CEO should wipe the slate clean, start a fresh, and look forward.
2. They must understand the global energy sector as well as the local one – Understand and recognize what is sustainable, look at global trends and stay on par with what’s happening.
3. They must inspire – Through their leadership, going forward, they need to inspire confidence.
4. They must be politically savvy – It would be unrealistic to expect the position to be depoliticised, this goes with out saying, judging by how highly politicised this position has been previously.
5. They must have financial expertise – One of Eskom’s biggest difficulties are the enormous debt they are in, it’s been widely reported and it’s a tough area the new CEO would need to navigate the company through.
6. The capacity to make tough or unpopular decisions – A key issue for Eskom is overstaffing. President Cyril Ramaphosa had effectively tied the CEO’s hands by making it clear there would be no job cuts. A 2016 World Bank policy research working paper found that Eskom had the largest workforce out of the electricity sectors in all 39 countries studied, and by its calculation, Eskom was overstaffed by over 65%.

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The coveted African Power, Energy & Water Industry awards has been taken place for the past six years, during the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition, in Cape Town. The prestigious African Power & Energy Elites Publication celebrates leadership and successful projects in the sector since 2016.

The two combined to host an award programme, known as the African Power & Energy Elites and offer even more benefits, recognition and exposure for the finalists and winners. This is apart from the high quality publication and glamorous awards evening. Some of the benefits available for finalists and winners includes access to, and speaking opportunities at leading energy events on the continent and a VIP tour of Cape Town and surrounds and an on-camera interview at the awards evening, amongst others.

In a collaborative effort, the African Power & Energy Elites and the African Power, Energy and Water Industry Awards will align with a single nomination and selection process across a set of complementary categories.

2020 project categories:

1. Leadership profile
2. Generation innovation and optimisation
3. Renewable energy generation innovation and optimisation
4. Rural Electrification
5. Transmission & Distribution
6. Smart Cities
7. Finance & Investment
8. Digital Transformation

The selected leaders and projects will automatically become nominees for the African Power, Energy and Water Awards set to take place on the 13th of May 2020.

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This bill provides for an additional amount of funds to be made available to the department of public enterprises to assist Eskom in meeting its financial commitments. The bill allows for R59bn to be appropriated from the National Revenue Fund to the DPE (Department of Public Enterprises) – R26bn of which is allocated for the current financial year (2019/2020) and R33bn is allocated for the following financial year (2020/2021).

Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni

Mboweni further told the National Assembly that the announcement of a Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) at the state-owned power utility is imminent. Depending on the finalisation on consultations with Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, the CRO could be announced very soon.

Mboweni told assembly that the current financial situation at Eskom is extremely serious.

“Eskom is not financially sustainable based on its current high levels of debt and its inability to generate sufficient revenue to meet its operational and capital obligations, which exposes the entity to high levels of liquidity and balance sheet risks.” – Tito Mboweni

The bill will next be referred to the Standing Committee on Appropriations for consideration. Once the bill is passed by the National Assembly it will be referred to the National Council of Provinces for consideration.

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State-owned enterprises, access to higher education, women abuse, unemployment and the revival of the economy were among the key issues that were raised during the SONA speech. The SONA proceeded quite peacefully throughout it’s duration, with no disruption from members of parliament, particular the red side of it, unlike in recent times.

Perhaps the Eskom funding announcement raised a few eye-brows. During the SONA, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that parliament will urgently table a special appropriations bill to allocate a ‘significant portion’ of the R230bn in fiscal support that struggling power utility Eskom requires. It was not mentioned what portion in monetary terms would be allocated.

He said Eskom only has sufficient cash to meet its obligations until the end of October 2019. Eskom supplies over 90% of all South Africa’s electricity demands, yet the ailing state-owned entity power utility are struggling to generate the revenue to make a profit, neither pay off the interest on it’s mounting debt burden swhich, according to reports, is approaching R500bn.

During the SONA, Ramaphosa said the special appropriations bill had to be implemented because “Eskom is too vital to our economy to be allowed to fail”.

He said that further details would be provided by the minister of finance.

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