Standing still while waiting for it to be fixed won’t change the impact that this issue has on our life
Time to take action! What are the solutions that can be implemented to fight back the load shedding in our household.

1. A backup battery
A backup battery also known as UPS Power Supply is a device that simply when there is electricity collects enough power to supply electricity once the main power source is unavailable.
This device can be found in different sizes depending on your needs and the capacity of appliances you would like to connect to it.

2. Rechargeable light bulbs
Also known as the emergency rechargeable LED, the device weight is named.
They work like regular bulbs once connected to a socket, if there’s the electricity they will recharge while the switch is on, and once the power cuts, they will stay on using the energy collected on their rechargeable battery.

3. A UPS for your router
Although having a backup battery will help you to have the power to supply your computer and other devices in your house, they won’t do you much good if you want to use them to access the internet.
A UPS is a device that supplies backup power for your WIFI routers and security cameras such as CCTV cameras.

4. Surge protection plugs
Sometimes when the main source of power is back, it can come with a higher voltage of electricity than usual, a surge protector is a device that protects your appliances against a high voltage by redirecting the excess power to a grounding power.

5. Solar power bank
Great for quick power supply, solar power banks are small external batteries that are chargeable with solar energy, the device allows you to charge small devices such as your phone without having to connect to an outlet.

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Since the beginning of the fall season in South Africa, Eskom has implemented the load-shedding festival due to the different incident that has been happening during the past few weeks, such as:

1. The sabotage of the cable stations

Since 2021 Eskom has been facing sabotage of its cables in different places within the country, the most recent occurred in Mpumalanga at the Hendrina station. Investigations have been conducted but with no concrete  outcome; and these sabotages cause instability in Eskom to provide electricity.

2. The continued shortage of generation capacity

Probably the primordial cause of the load-shedding in South Africa is the shortage of generation capacity, due to the different power stations not working and Eskom is unable to provide enough capacity.

Eskom provided an estimated value of 4,000 – 6,000 MW of additional capacity needed to properly maintain its power stations.  Another 14,500 megawatts of capacity is currently unavailable due to the multiple breakdowns of the generation.

3. The coal quality

The quality of coal plays an important role in the generation of electricity in the different power stations. For quite a few years now, there is an ongoing issue with the quality of coal provided by several syndicates and other suppliers, such as “Exxaro and Seriti” which are the largest suppliers of coal to Eskom, by roughly providing 80% of coal/year to Eskom.

According to the expert Chris Yelland, suppliers are unable to keep up with the expected quality of coal requested due to the constant demand that keeps on increasing. The bad quality of coal, impacted the production as workers have to manually remove ash and other elements in the units stuck in the pipework, which cause delays and affects the different stations.

4. The Inadequate level of skills and inadequate availability of skills

One of the biggest challenges that South Africa is facing is a lack of skills, and Eskom has also been impacted by the wave, as there are challenges with a lack of engineering and technical skills and experience in the industry. According to Pravin Gordhan, In order to solve the issue, Eskom has launched a training program to upgrade the skills and abilities of its workers.

In conclusion,

With the demand that keeps on increasing, it’s now challenging to constantly supply enough electricity to the entire country. In order to match the demand, Eskom has no order choice but to reimplement the load-shedding period with different stages based on the current events and demand in the market. With the fall season that has started, we might face a long period in the dark as demand tends to increase. It’s not yet clear when the issues will be fixed and also when load-shedding will be definitely suspended, but according to the Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha, Eskom’s users can help the entity in reducing stages but reducing electricity usage, which can potentially help in suspending the load-shedding.

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Prepaid electricity in the main, is quite a good concept to look into if you are still running a post paid system and are struggling with exorbitant monthly fees and costs. If you are controlling your energy spend with the post paid method, then this is in order however it can easily become a costly expense. Prepaid electricity too, are not without it’s errors and issues and below we will discuss some very common errors you will come across some time or the other with your prepaid electricity set-up:

Error Messages: 

1. SAD face – probably means it is just finger trouble in typing the token number – please retry
2. DDDD –  Duplicated token. The token has probably been entered already, causing this error. Please double check.
3. Error 30 – Technical error on your meter. To try and troubleshoot this error, please switch off your meter, as well as your electricity mains and give it a few minutes. Afterwards, turn back on your mains and meter back on and retry your token. If the error 30 persists, please contact your municipality and get a technician to come out and have a look at the meter.

Meter Blocked? – It does occur that a meter is blocked by a municipality’s credit control. This means that the municipality prevents your meter from making a prepaid purchase until the block is lifted. To have this lifted the client needs to sort this out with the municipality.

While we are on the subject, also important to note that any outstanding fees on your utility bill that is deemed to be in arrears, can be deducted from your prepaid electricity purchase. If this takes place, it is wise to contact the municipality to resolve this.

For more information please visit: https://straton.co.za/pre-paid/about/prepaid-meter-error-codes/

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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.

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President Ramaphosa said the decision followed a broad public interview and a lot of specialized work embraced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. He said it would build the National Energy Regulator of SA’s authorizing edge for inserted age projects from 1MW to 100MW.

The changed guidelines will absolve age projects up to 100MW from the Nersa authorizing necessity, regardless of whether they are associated with the matrix.

This will eliminate a critical hindrance to interest in inserted age projects.

Ramaphosa’s declaration comes as the economy is wrestling with power outages after power provider Eskom inclined up its rotational burden shedding to Stage 4 because of consistent breakdowns.

The business has been requiring the public authority to expand the limit on inserted power age from 1MW to 50MW.

“It also demonstrates our commitment as the government to listen carefully to experts, to engage closely with our social partners, and to take on board new ideas to address our long-standing challenges,” he said.

Ramaphosa said that was a critical new advance in further transforming the power area towards accomplishing a steady and secure stock of energy.

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In a statement released, Eskom said that their teams have been making headway in returning multiple units to serve over the past 24hours. Eskom teams have successfully returned two generation units each at Kursile, Kriel and one at Tutuka power stations to service.

An additional two generation units are scheduled to return to service while reserves for emergency generation have also recovered adequately. However, they cautioned that with their energy use, the public should stay frugal as they remain hamstrung by aging and fragile facilities at many of their power plants.

“While the supply situation has improved at this point, Eskom would like to request the public to continue using electricity sparingly as the system is vulnerable and unpredictable” the said.

“As Eskom has regularly stated, the risk of load shedding remains elevated while we conduct increased reliability maintenance.” they currently have 4920MW put on planned maintenance, while another 13897MW of capacity is unavailable due to unplanned maintenance, breakdown and outage delays.

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Research was conducted and Wright noted 3 key steps that urgently need to be implemented to help resolve the crisis faced by Eskom and the energy grid. 

1. Customer response at scale: 
   This entails an immediate focus on customer response by enabling regulations that make it possible for the businesses and homes to generate their own power.
   This does not need to take the form of going completely off-grid, but rather generating some power to complement that which is provided by Eskom.
   This could be implemented as soon as this year and would help deal with short-term power shortages.
2.  DMRE RMPPP
   The DMRE Risk Mitigation Power Purchase Programme (RMPPP) must be accelerated to address the remaining capacity and energy gaps within the country and to ensure capacity can come online timeously.
   This programme is only set to come online in 2022, said the researchers, although this could be accelerated to mid-2021. This would result in a further reduction in load shedding.
3. Implement IRP 2019
   It is important to place an immediate focus ministerial determinations for all technologies outlined in the IRP 2019, followed by the procurement process to ensure this is implemented timeously.

Reference: click here for more information.

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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.

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“No one knows for certain if load shedding will be necessary, not even Eskom” says Yelland. It depends on the randomness of breakdowns. However, Eskom can make prediction based on their experience. The likelihood of rationing is despite demand for electricity being lower in 2020 than in 2008, “That’s because of a weaker economy, and rising electricity prices which means people are more likely to use energy such as gas” he says

However, there is a lot happening over the short term and long term that make further blackouts more likely, and means they will probably keep on happening for at least another 18 months. In the short term, Eskom’s availability generating capacity usually declines over summer. The basic reason is that demand for power is lower, so Eskom typically schedules its maintenance for the warmer months. Yelland says that “Eskom’s available power is usually lowest between December 15 and January 15″

Unfortunately, there is also an increase risk of unplanned outages during the summer. The warmer air can impact Eskom’s dry-cooled power stations, such as Medupi near Lephalale, and Kusile near Balmoral. “Think of a power station that produces 600MW. Because it is getting too hot, it can now only produce 500MW” says Yelland. It is also like a car overheating, you cannot run them flat out. If Medupi and Kusile two of Eskom’s largest power stations have 10% less output, that means there is a lot less power generated.

The power utility is embarking on a massive maintenance program over the next few months, although the exact dates are nit known; the reliability maintenance program as it is called was originally scheduled for earlier this year but was delayed due to lockdown.

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Eskom which has debt of about 454 billion rand is entangle in corruption allegations, many of them related to contracts for the maintenance and construction of power plants. Numerous allegations have been aired at a state commission of inquiry. The first contract to build an ash-handling plant and dam at the site was initially awarded to Rula bulk Materials handling in 2016. But that raised the conflict of interest issue.

Danie Odendaal, an Eskom general manager, was found in an internal probe to have signed off on a technical review used in the tender won by Rula, where his brother Roelf is a shareholder and managing director, a person familiar with the findings said. Danie Odendaal had declared a conflict and should not have participated in the decision.

Danie Odendaal remains suspended and will be going through a disciplinary process says Eskom and the details are matters between employer and employee.

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