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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Please be advised that as of the 1st of October, 2019, we have gained support for the following municipalities:

• DCL Metering
• Dynamic Prepaid
• Watelec
• Zotos Ventures
• Matzikama Municipality
• Ontec DA Metering Systems
• Ontec Meter Man Systems
• Centlec Direct

If you are part of of these municipalities and utilities, we are plead to announce that you are supported on our platform and you are free to register and make your prepaid electricity purchases through our platform. Go ahead and register your account right here, and make use of the most convenient, online prepaid vendor, via website and mobile applications.

The post New Municipalities Supported 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.

The post Newcastle Municipality to keep the lights on appeared first on Powertime.

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%.

The post 7 things new Eskom CEO should focus on appeared first on Powertime.

So how exactly are these sectors affected by climate change?

Increased drought, storms and flooding has caused massive revenue loss. The Australian Agriculture earlier this year released a statement where it’s mentioned that they’ve lost around $72 mil, largely due to the effects of drought and floods. South African poultry producer RCL Foods. warned it could see profits hit by irrigation restrictions linked to droughts.

What is the effect of climate change in a South African context?

In a governmental report released earlier this year, bold and very disturbing predictions were made for the turn of the century. According to the report, temperature increases of 6 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century. We have already seen an increase in extreme weather conditions over the past few years with the intensity of rainfall in some parts and prolonged dry spells in other parts.

What should be done about this?

It should be advised that we should not panic about the situation. Despite the situation being quite bad, there is yet an opportunity to mitigate the potentially disastrous effects of climate change. The government has come up with the NCASS framework which is a nine-step programme that will be implemented to reduce the damage of climate change.

The post Climate Change taking it’s toll on market appeared first on Powertime.

“It is no secret that this role comes with unimaginable demands which have unfortunately had a negative impact on my health,” the outgoing CEO said in his statement.

At the end of March, Eskom’s debt stood at R440bn and it isn’t selling enough electricity to cover its interest payments and operational costs, according to the company. The utility was at the center of an alleged looting spree that mainly targeted state companies during the ignominious tenure of former president Jacob Zuma.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, who, as part of his duties, oversees Eskom, wouldn’t comment on Hadebe’s departure. According to his spokesperson, the issue with regards to the resignation is an issue that is for the board to deal with.

While the resignation may be a negative factor in the short term, as it would likely disrupt the leadership at the power utility, it does provide an opportunity. The newly elected President Ramaphosa and the board will now be tasked with the decision of entrusting the massive job at hand with someone that could potentially address the massive operational and financial issues.

The post Eskom CEO resigns amid inconceivable demands appeared first on Powertime.

In the briefing, some very interesting admissions were made with Gordhan starting out the briefing with an apology for the current state of events at Eskom, and the recent prolonged load-shedding episode. He mentioned in this briefing that there currently, there is a technical review team doing work on investigating the various power plants. He sheds some more light on this, saying that the work is not complete but at least Eskom now has a greater understanding of the challenges they face.

The very interesting bit of his statement was when he made mention of the fact that if load-shedding is absolutely necessary this winter, it would only be implemented at stage 1, at least until the end of August.

Eskom has previously blamed ageing power plants and insufficient maintenance, among other things, for the spate of load shedding.

The post Eskom’s Winter Plan appeared first on Powertime.

Eskom Unbundled

In this section of the budget speech, he also gave some very interesting insight on how the separation of Eskom would work, from a financial point of view. In the state of nation address earlier this month by President Cyril Ramaphosa, an announcement was made that Eskom will be split into three separate entities, in a bid to stabilize the finance and governance problems of Eskom. You can read more on that here.

Financial Summary

Before delving into the conditions that was set by the finance minister, Tito Mboweni, it’s perhaps a good idea to just have a over view of the current situation with regards to the situation at Eskom. Eskom, who does not make any profit off the current price of electricity, have a total debt of R419bn. They have reportedly asked for a support package of R100bn.

Conditional Relief

The financial support announced by Mboweni yesterday, amounts to R23bn per year, over three years. “We are setting R23bn a year to financially support Eskom during its reconfiguration”, he told parliament. However there are conditions. The financial injection is also meant to support the separation of Eskom and to that end. Part of the condition is that a “Chief Reorganization Office”, will need to be appointed by Mboweni and Public Enterprises minister, Pravin Gordhan. The elected person will work with the board of Eskom and management to carry out the recommendations of the Presidential task team.

Finance minister, Tito Mboweni said that more announcements would be made in the coming weeks.

The post Eskom to receive conditional support – Mboweni appeared first on Powertime.