A lesson learned from Europe
With Eskom facing many challenges, the public has been preparing for a winter of discontent; a winter which has never arrived. By and large, Eskom has done a commendable job to keep the lights on during a period where electricity demand is traditionally high.
But we cannot be complacent. Eskom is struggling to meet demand, be it summer or winter. And South Africa has a major role to play in the economic stability of the Southern African region as it is the economic powerhouse of the region.
It must be pointed out that we are not alone in these issues. Belgium faced its own power supply issues last year, and there are significant lessons we can learn from their concerns.
A tale of two cities
While completely worlds apart in terms of Belgium being a developed country and South Africa being a developing country, many similarities between the two countries can be drawn.
A report by AIG pointed out that manufacturers in Belgium were facing continuing power shortages during the 2014/15 winter that threatened to curtail and even stop production because of ageing gas-fired stations. This was complicated by the unexpected shut down of three nuclear reactors and legal challenges to renewable energy infrastructure.
The report adds that many businesses had been preparing for the worst, especially those relying on suppliers in neighbouring countries that could also have been affected by power shortages. Some had installed generators to deliver at least limited power to keep the lights on, if not the production lines moving.
Protect the data
Other companies that lived through that winter were concerned about mainframe computers crashing with consequent loss of data in the event of a sudden outage.
As experts pointed out, it can take two hours or more to power down a mainframe safely, so a sudden loss of power would be catastrophic. Another fear was damage caused to equipment by abrupt peaks in power delivery.
Power surges are a major concern for the insurance industry, and as we pointed out in an article in January, insurers are not compelled to pay out claims that are subsequent to power surges.
Load shedding is not fortuitous, not sudden and is not unforeseen as it is a planned intervention by Eskom. The public is aware of the problems Eskom is currently facing, and the load shedding schedules are made public through various platforms. The media coverage regarding load shedding is also in the public domain, so it is not as if the public is in the dark regarding these challenges.
Unwelcome prospect
One of the biggest fears in the South African context, which is becoming more pertinent as time goes on, is the possibility of a national blackout. The fact that Government is devising strategies to handle these situations is not doing much to settle fears in the market.
In the Belgium scenario, as the cuts were looming, Elia, the operator of Belgium’s electricity transmission system, warned: “If the government’s plans to phase out nuclear power are factored in, it is obvious the country is facing a monumental challenge in terms of security of supply.”
We face a similar situation if we are to phase out our reliance on coal. The backbone of South Africa’s power supply has always been coal; but the latest rumours of the nuclear deal with Russian companies suggest that South Africa is making an attempt to diversify its supply mechanisms.
Editor’s Thoughts:
Are we really prepared for the worst effects of a total failure by Eskom? While we do have mitigation strategies in place, how long will these plans last if we experience a total blackout? Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts [email protected].
