NPR

bok_viking wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:26 pm

FalseBayFC wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 8:51 am

assfly wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 8:14 am
You must have important neighbours!

We're in Harfield Village which abuts the Metrorail railway line. Thats the only thing I can think of.

I know of some areas in KZN and in Gauteng where they don't do loadshedding because everytime they do Loadshedding in those areas, Eskom infrastructure gets stolen and needs to be replaced, so eventually they stopped loadshedding because it became to costly
My neighbour's parents live in 1 such area.

FalseBayFC wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:30 pm

bok_viking wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:26 pm

FalseBayFC wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 8:51 am
We're in Harfield Village which abuts the Metrorail railway line. Thats the only thing I can think of.

I know of some areas in KZN and in Gauteng where they don't do loadshedding because everytime they do Loadshedding in those areas, Eskom infrastructure gets stolen and needs to be replaced, so eventually they stopped loadshedding because it became to costly
My neighbour's parents live in 1 such area.

We're at Stage 6 and should be load-shedding right now. But lights are on! We must be on one of those hard to turn off circuits.

handyman wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:55 pm Any particular reason why the illegal strikers were not harshly dealt with?

OomStruisbaai wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 6:08 pm I am just starting building a new home. This stage 6 have me thinking about gas and solar from the start.

assfly wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:43 am

OomStruisbaai wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 6:08 pm I am just starting building a new home. This stage 6 have me thinking about gas and solar from the start.

I'd go completely off-grid if I were you. Next it'll be the water supply that's an issue.

average joe wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:11 am Are you surprised? Our ANC overlords want to implement a special tax for people who generate their own electricity. They know their cash cow Eskom is dying and if everyone just starts to do their own thing there wont be a cow left to milk. So the ANC now says they own the sun and if you want to use it you'll have to pay.

handyman wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 10:26 am When do you guys think the ANC will not be the governing party any more, when will even the die hard ANC supporters say enough is enough?

OomStruisbaai wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:51 pm The EFF will replace the ANC.

Wilson's Toffee wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 9:24 am

OomStruisbaai wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:51 pm The EFF will replace the ANC.

Same thing - EFF is just the old Youth League in protest. As soon as the ANC runs into trouble, they will kiss and make up (and bribe) with Juliaas and they will regain their majority.

FalseBayFC wrote: Sun Jul 10, 2022 8:46 am Kevin Savage and Barry Ronge RIP. Lots of good memories I had of them. Real icons.

The City of Cape Town has published a 10-point plan to end load shedding in the city and move away from Eskom’s grid.

The plan, which is addressed to president Cyril Ramaphosa, comes as the country faces a ‘fully-fledged socio-economic crisis’, said mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

“We need urgent, strong and clear leadership that shows Government has a plan to end load-shedding and achieve energy security.

“In Cape Town, we have begun to procure additional capacity from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to alleviate the burden on Eskom and end load-shedding here over time. This will, in turn, improve the situation nationally. But we need the National Government to help us bring more capacity online, quicker.”

Hill-Lewis said the 10-point plan is as follows:

Abolish the 100MW licensing threshold for embedded generation and ensure a registration period for IPPs not exceeding 14 days. Not only is this threshold arbitrary, but it makes little financial sense. Due to economies of scale, the optimal size for new energy projects is far larger than this, and larger projects offer cheaper electricity per unit.
Implement an income tax write-off for capital investment into small-scale generation and battery storage projects. This could also be used to subsidise and incentivise home installations of solar PV and battery storage, making home generation affordable to more South Africans.
Exempt financially-healthy municipalities from all unnecessary legislation and regulations (including those governing municipal procurement) that will delay bringing new generation capacity online. A minimum-compliance approach must be allowed in respect of tenders for IPP procurement and the construction of municipal own-generation projects.
Declare in clear and unequivocal terms that municipalities do not require approval from energy minister Mantashe for electricity procurement. Uncertainty in this regard is having a chilling effect on municipalities’ ability to procure new generation and introducing delays; there is no good reason for this to continue.
Offer National Treasury guarantees in respect of any borrowing — by municipalities and private entities — necessary for IPP generation projects and municipal own-generation projects.
Waive the Department of Trade and Industry’s local content requirements on solar PV modules until energy security is achieved.
Exempt electricity traders from onerous National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) licensing requirements, substituting a registration process in which traders are required to demonstrate compliance with a basic list of requirements only designed to protect public distribution networks.

Remove the substantial red tape on the establishment of natural gas imports and transport in the Western Cape, unlocking the use of natural gas-powered turbines. These are cleaner and cheaper than the diesel and jet fuel turbines currently in use.
Convert Eskom’s Ankerlig plant in Atlantis, Cape Town to natural gas and run the plant on a mid-merit basis, with dynamic output adjusted according to fluctuations in demand.
Immediately establish a Power Crisis Unit in National Treasury, with representation from municipalities and technical experts as well as the Finance Minister, with the mandate of expediting all interventions that could end the power crisis. The Unit must not just be another Government “task team”, and must in fact have power to make regulatory decisions. This includes decisions needed for interventions described above, as well as demand-side management, battery storage, new natural gas projects, and increasing Eskom’s operational efficiency.
“Though we are only midway through July, the year 2022 is already the worst year of load-shedding on record. The last two weeks’ Stage 6 load-shedding — in which South Africans had to endure up to 12 hours a day without power — cost the national economy R4.2 billion per day.

“Unless president Ramaphosa immediately implements bold steps to increase electricity generation capacity, we stand to lose even more than the 125,000 jobs that load shedding destroyed in 2019 alone,” Hill-Lewis said.

“My message to president Ramaphosa is that this problem is solvable if we all work together. But it requires clear and decisive leadership, and a willingness to do things differently. I am hopeful that we can end load shedding for the benefit of all in South Africa. Now is not the time to meekly accept our fate; it is the time to think big, to be decisive and to make a real difference.”

troglodiet wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 6:20 am Question to all you nature lovers and especially bird watchers (the feathered type).

Yesterday I saw a male Masked Weaver building a nest in my garden. Bright yellow. Very chirpy. Ready to mate with a girl or 20.

It's mid-July. The East Rand isn't exactly known for its mild winters.

I'm no David Attenborough, but did learn a bit about animal behavior when I used to do photography. According to me this colouring and nest building is supposed to start end of August/ mid September. So this guy is 6 weeks early.

Is he:
1) a sign of climate change?
2) very jags and cannot wait another 6 weeks to patla patla?
3) bipolar?
4) Joe Biden level delusional?
5) a sign of a very early Spring approaching?
6) the fucker who kept on messing with my marijuana plants 2 months ago?

Chilli wrote: Mon Jul 25, 2022 4:24 pm No idea Sards.

I wonder how many of those knives are actually practical for all day, every day use?

I have had my set of Zwilling knives for close on 20 years now, and they are just practical every day knives.

average joe wrote: Tue Jul 26, 2022 1:22 pm The hole is for indexing.

average joe wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2022 6:01 am Did oom mean parra slagter? That would explain the fingering hole.