On 2020/05/26 at 11:05 AM, Richard Mackay said:

Cape Town mayor Dan Plato was requesting permission (court case?) from Eskom to be able to source power from other electricity suppliers.

Does anybody have any news on this since this will definitely make COCT position easier..

I don't see how it will stop illegal connections. Illegal connectors aren't worried about where the juice comes from as long as it is juice.

In theory it will give them mitigation against load shedding (assuming they rather than Eskom own the infrastructure). But illegal connections wreak havoc. Not just because of non-payment and danger to the residents, but because they almost always result in an overload somewhere. 

Eskom currently are load shedding in some areas and City Power are threatening the same. This is to protect their infrastructure. You can't overload a sub station that doesn't have any power coming in.

There are a mix of factors. More people at home, sudden onset of cold weather, but also an increase in illegal connections (possibly linked to more people being at home most of the day every day).

1 hour ago, Bobster said:

I don't see how it will stop illegal connections. Illegal connectors aren't worried about where the juice comes from as long as it is juice.

This isn't the reason I'm interested in the subject of COCT engaging with Eskom. My understanding as to why there is this problem of RE systems feeding power back into the grid is that the municipalities are obliged (by law) to only buy their electricity from Eskom.

This has resulted in the convulsions that COCT has had to undergo to allow RE systems to operate at all.

If this is indeed the case and COCT can break free from Eskom them their SSEG program etc. could be revised setting a precedent for other utilities around the country..

On 2020/05/28 at 4:17 PM, Richard Mackay said:

This isn't the reason I'm interested in the subject of COCT engaging with Eskom. My understanding as to why there is this problem of RE systems feeding power back into the grid is that the municipalities are obliged (by law) to only buy their electricity from Eskom.

This has resulted in the convulsions that COCT has had to undergo to allow RE systems to operate at all.

If this is indeed the case and COCT can break free from Eskom them their SSEG program etc. could be revised setting a precedent for other utilities around the country..

Yes. That's true. Though there are ways around the current regulations. COJ buys power directly from the now privately owned Kelvin power station that is for COJ only.

I was going to say that one party makes such things harder for municipalities that are run by another party, but in fact the arrangement started (or was revived) when Herman Mashaba was mayor.

On 2020/05/28 at 2:26 PM, Bobster said:

Eskom currently are load shedding in some areas and City Power are threatening the same. This is to protect their infrastructure. You can't overload a sub station that doesn't have any power coming in.

I'm encouraged by this. Finally there is a decision to cut off supply to delinquent townships during peak periods. The majority of these township residents are connected to the grid illegally . It isn't getting to the root of the problem but it's a start.

Edited June 1, 20206 yr by Richard Mackay
Clarity!

On 2020/06/01 at 9:49 AM, Richard Mackay said:

I'm encouraged by this. Finally there is a decision to cut off supply to delinquent townships during peak periods. The majority of these township residents are connected to the grid illegally . It isn't getting to the root of the problem but it's a start.

The problem is that it's not townships that are delinquent. The people who do feed their prepaid meter also get cut off.

City Power don't supply most of Soweto. They are disconnecting illegal connections in areas they do supply. It's an uphill struggle. 

I've given them some easier work by dobbing in illegal connections I've spotted in Linden and Northcliff. 

There is quite a lot going on. Eskom have put the squeeze on municipalities that are in arrears. 

I had a visit from City Power because they want to know why I hadn't bought any power for 3 months.

The last few months I've bought 350 kw/h a month. The first 350 are the cheapest at the moment. I still use a little power each month, so the credit on my meter is going to last a while. 

1st July the price goes up, the brackets are adjusted so that the first 300 are cheapest AND they are going to impose a levy of R200 a month for a prepaid meter. This means big increases for prepaid customers, the people who pay in advance and help the City's cash flow. That makes me a bit cross, though prepaid still saves money, just not as much. 

https://midrandreporter.co.za/269486/city-powers-winter-plan/

What they don't mention here is that the owners of the Kelvin station have increased their output and the City has bought the lot. 

Also that they are attacking the problem of illegal connections, and not just in the townships, and that they are beefing up infrastructure. 

If they're going to do all this for real then that takes some of the sting out of the price increases. If... 

Latest news on this is that the City Power conducted a raid in the Rabie Ridge area over the weekend. They went in with the SADF protecting them.

The found illegal connections running underground. They dug these up and disconnected them.

You know that aluminium ABC cable that they are replacing copper with because it's not worth stealing? Most of the illegal connections they found were made using ABC. So either it is worth stealing or this was an inside job.

They have also turned off several townhouse complexes (mostly Roodepoort and Midrand) where the feed for the entire complex was illegal. This would have been done by the developers, not the residents. Indeed the residents usually get a pre-paid meter so that they pay somebody for the power they consume - just not the municipality.

The cheek of some people.

Edited June 22, 20206 yr by Bobster
spelling

Eskom appears to be getting tough with the delinquent townships (who think that electricity should not be paid for!) They have this new phrase: 'load reduction' which is the switching off the substations supplying these townships during peak load periods. 

It's tough for those residents in the township who are paying for their electricity however but there appear to be no rules with this fight..