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Eskom CEO Brian Dames. Photo: Leon Nicholas.
Eskom CEO Brian Dames says power consumers need to save 10% or 3,000 Megawatts (MW) from the 2007 base line so that the electricity parastatal can carry out necessary maintenance on middle-aged power stations.
Dames was speaking at a briefing at Megawatt Park on Monday.
Power station managers regularly asked Dames when they could take some of their units offline, as if they did not carry out maintenance, there was a risk of catastrophic failure due to the system being overly stressed.
As a steam pipe network replacement took around 120 days, planning maintenance was a critical question, but if there were demand savings, then this created space for the necessary savings, Dames added.
Eskom said on Friday in its twice-weekly capacity update service that unplanned outages were 5,521 MW on January 26 compared with 5,497 MW on January 23, some 5,373 MW on January 19, while they stood at 4,274 MW on January 16 and 3,678 MW on January 13.
The electricity generating capacity available to meet peak demand on January 26 was 33,189 MW, while demand was expected to be 31,106 MW. Current planned maintenance stood at 4,286 MW.
Eskom has moved to twice a week updates instead of the previous quarterly updates in line with its commitment to regular and transparent communication on the power system, which was expected to be constrained for at least the next two years.
On January 17 peak demand of 31,278 MW was met by available capacity of 32,954 MW - a margin of 1,676 MW (5%) or around three modern 600 MW coal-fired generators.
On January 9 peak demand of 30,282 MW was met by available capacity of 30,742 MW or a margin of only 460 MW (less than one generating unit at a modern coal generating plant) or only 1.5%. The internationally accepted safe margin was set at 15%.
The reason for this low margin in SA was that Eskom carried out planned maintenance on its power stations during the seasonally low demand summer months, so that power stations were ready to handle the peak winter demand months of June and July, when service delivery protests also peaked.
On January 12, capacity taken offline for planned maintenance was 4,461 MW or around nine generating units, but unplanned outages were 3,678 MW or around seven generating units. Last year in February, a 600 MW generating unit at Duvha failed during tests as it was being returned to service, while in January 2003 a similar event took place.
For this year and next year Eskom did not possess the spare capacity to be able to have a large generating unit fail, as the first unit of the new Medupi power station was expected to only come on line in 2013. - I-Net Bridge
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Anonymous, wrote
When there rest of the country were unable to bath their babies or feed the sick Mr Dames here gave himself and his executives a 109% increase!! They also boast about their record profits after hiking their rates by 35%, so it shows what they are using that extra money for! Privatise Eskom, it is time for this nepotism, corruption and mismanagemnt of public services is enough!! I bet Mr Dames' mansion is floodlit everynight, hes pool heated everyday and he never receives a bill from Eskom. Eskom has become nothing but a sespool of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement, the same as the ANC i guess but this directly affects our lives everyday. Enough is enough fire these scum, hire people who will work for a normal salary and put that money and the qualifications of real honest people to good use instead of having this shameless, souless, greedy criminals holding our health and wellbeing, our economy and our livelyhoods at the tip of their fingers!
Anonymous, wrote
Mr Dames please cut your executive salaries and bonuses by 10%. I am sure it will help a lot.
Dude, wrote
Madness, and last year they declare a 12 billion rand profit and still we have to live under the threat of new increases and power outages. Disgusting, useless state parastatal, no better than the crooks at the national lotery. Shame on you Eskom. For those who can buy the latest issue of the Big Issue, very interesting article in there. If it is not Eskom trying to rip us off with their incompetence then it is Telkom and Transnet, is it just me or is there a familiar trend going on. Get private industry involved man.
kevin, wrote
Sick&Tired, wrote
I am sick and tired of Eskom and this CEO. Firstly, you raise electricity prices by 150% over 3 years and now you telling me I must use it sparingly. You force me to pay for electricity beforehand (prepaid) and then you tell me there is a good chance you will not be able to render the service unless I save 10% of my electricity bill. All this rubbish while Eskom still has year end parties, all types of award banquets and has large corporate functions for the whole company where a simple email would have achieved the same results. Not to mention the corporate gifts and salaries. Bottomline Mr Dames, you were the one that said you deserved your bonus, so good luck in finding that elusive 10%. I will rather deal with blackouts than have to pay more, save 10% electricity effectively driving my business into bankruptcy and still suffer the inconvenience of load shedding. We are already saddled with the World Bank loans which my children's children will be paying off with their taxes.
DA HOWITSON, wrote
Despite having a small pension, I went to the expense of installing a solar heater. My electricity account has decrease on average by 38%. Mr Dames, I am trying my level best to save electricity. Unfortunately, my wheelchair's batteries need electricity to get charged...so spare me the "save 10%" speech. Switch off office lights, showroom lights, lights that burn during the day, etc and you will achieve more than 10% savings.
Anonymous, wrote
I am in the process of designing very cheap power alternatives! I am so tired of Eskoms crap in this country. My bill is over R1000 a month from R200 a few years ago. The only way to get us out of this rubbish is to help ourselves. These ppl will wont stop until half our salaries go to Eskom Tax man is not even helping out its just ridiculous
tebogo, wrote
Electricity tariff keeps going sky rocket, and meanwhile we have to save electricity. I as a customer, why should I care on how I should use my electricity, meanwhile Eskom keeps raising their tariffs? That is a rip-off. I know petrol price fluctuates and I have to drive less, as a result of short trips. think about the man in the street, we have to be always on alert, that there might be blackouts, honestly, CEOs are getting bigger bonuses and we have to liver in shatter wait.
Drew, wrote
I would love to know why all the motor dealerships who leave their 2000 megawatt lights on in their showrooms every night are not dealt with!!!
Geyser, wrote
Eskom should start by saving on the salaries and bonuses of their managers. Start with 25% salary cut and end all bonuses, increase tha tariffs that they large conglomerates and invest all that money in additional generators.
Use less, but pay more, wrote
Dames, you are a joke. Our electricity costs more and we are expected to consume less. That's a win-win for your troubled power utility, but a lose all round situation for the consumer. Get some extra generation capacity on the grid. There are companies like Agrekko who can supply generators. You are an incompetent manager and should be replaced. From an electrician.
Clever Trevor, wrote
I see Eshcom as a failed service provider who wants to screw the South African public and wants to supply electricity cheaper to neighbouring countries...Even we have our hand in Hydro-Electric in Uganda-what for?They must be liquidated and sold to an oversea's Chinese or Indian company so we can get value for our money and not robbed in daylight.They normally put a blackout performance just before our Annual Budget in Febuary every year and they get additional millions given to them.Sis-Maan.
madcow disease , wrote
ja ask everyone to save but not you swines and your'll want bloody increases, why are the street lights not switched off during broad daylight every bloody day .
tebogo, wrote
Electricity tariff keeps going sky rocket, and meanwhile we have to save electricity. I as a customer, why should I care on how I should use my electricity, meanwhile Eskom keeps raising their tariffs? That is a rip-off. I know petrol price fluctuates and I have to drive less, as a result of short trips. think about the man in the street, we have to be always on alert, that there might be blackouts, honestly, CEOs are getting bigger bonuses and we have to liver in shatter wait.
Cape Flets Monster, wrote
ESKDOM!!! Damn!! So you dont have Capacity you dont have resources you dont have coal you dont do the maintenance you dont do Electricity...sounds like a Political party holding the wealth of your profits in their hands. Why do we have to pay for the increases in Tarriffs when are consumption is reduce to a further 10%... You think the consumers are should be happy with this type of crap service. Answer is find another 3 or more source suppliers for electricity then we'll see what happens in the next 5 - 7 years there'd be drastic reduction in the costs. Solar and Wind is too unreliable anyway as a secondary option. WOTKINE EKSDOM you dont have a plan???!!!
@Badballie, wrote
Badballie, really, you should limit your commments to stuff you know something about. One of the reasons we have this electricity crisis is that no private company was prepared to build new capacity at the ruling and projected electricity price when the IPP process was run in the late 1990's. You are therefore being pretty naive is you think that a private company would lower tariffs. I work in the indusstry and the returns earned by Eskom are way below those 'demanded' by the private sector. Unfortunately elec generation is not a competitive industry and prices can rise dramatically if things are simply 'left to the market'. It is also unlikely that service would improve in the short term - it takes many years to bring on new capacity, regardless of whether the supplier is private or parastatal. The 'reality' is that the unfortunate consequence of having had electricty at below cost for so many years is that the average South African (private and corporate) are extremely wasteful. So, at this late stage, saving elect is the only way to avert a crisis. It is also the right thing to do, if you consider the environmental damage that results from coal mining, not to mention the environmental impacts of the so called 'renewable' technologies
Anonymous, wrote
Is Dames refering to the power consumers whpo are paying for electricty or those who are stealing it.. The ones who are paying for it are already using it sparingly cause it is so damn expensive - they have no option. The thieves don't care !!!
Shrek, wrote
biffo, wrote
Another case of bs baffles brains and just an excuse to 'forces another power hike so the fat cats get bigger bonuses(as was the case before) once the bigger hike went thru NO PROBLEM???......if it is true????????why is it left till critical stage?????
Anonymous, wrote
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