2022 has set an abysmal record for load-shedding, with all indications pointing to this trend continuing next year.
Unacceptable as it is, loadshedding has become a reality of life.
Eskom’s many challenges — corruption, sabotage, debt, lack of funds for diesel, insufficient maintenance, persistent breakdowns, declining generation capacity — are compounded by the escalating scourge of infrastructure theft and vandalism.
At a local level, our electricity distributor, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, is equally haunted by meter tampering, illegal connections, theft and vandalism of infrastructure.
Mayor Retief Odendaal recently said that 80,000 electricity meters in the metro had been tampered with and that “nontechnical losses”, electricity theft in other words, account for 20% of the electricity the metro purchases from Eskom.
What was once a profitable business cross-subsiding other municipal departments, the NMBM’s electricity and energy directorate is now budgeted to run at a mind-boggling R800m loss for the current financial year.
Electricity theft alone threatens the financial wellbeing of the entire municipality, including all basic service delivery.
As citizens and business, we cannot just sit back and watch while institutions and infrastructure crumble before our eyes. What can we do, given this dismal situation?
One is an activist approach which holds government accountable for delivering reliable, efficient and cost-effective services.
We can also no longer tolerate the current situation where criminal behaviour such as stealing electricity becomes the norm and remains unpunished.
Two is that we must become increasingly self-reliant for our energy needs and the infrastructure we require.
A major milestone for accountability was achieved through the business chamber’s legal challenge to Nersa’s municipal electricity tariff methodology. The methodology enabled municipalities to charge excessive tariffs, funding waste and inefficiencies and abuse of electricity income for matters unrelated to electricity.
The high court last month ruled the methodology unlawful and for it to be replaced by 2024. Municipalities countrywide are now obliged to provide transparent financial information on electricity distribution and are challenged to run this function more efficiently, including reducing electricity losses.
The chamber is working with the metro, Eskom distribution and the SA Local Government Association (Salga) to find common ground towards sustainable solutions, while enforcing accountability.
Adopt-a-Substation is another key initiative, involving businesses in various areas working together in geographic clusters supported by the chamber and combining forces to protect infrastructure.
This is well under way, with 17 substations now having additional security to avoid interruptions to electricity supply. High on our agenda is the issue of securing the Chatty substation, the main feed-in point from Eskom. The entire metro risks going down if it fails due to lack of maintenance or vandalism.
We have also reached an agreement with the municipality for 20 energy-intensive manufacturers to implement 24-hour load-shedding from stage 5+. This is less disruptive for manufacturing where regular two-hour load-shedding causes significant production losses due to repeated shutting down and restarting of plants.
Industry also needs to do its part and continues to implement energy’ efficiency measures and cut non-essential energy use during load-shedding.
In a major step towards reducing dependence on Eskom and lowering carbon footprints, the chamber s Renewable Energy Cluster is entering into negotiations with a renewable energy power producer to supply a substantial part of local industry with renewable energy.
This is envisaged to come on stream during 2024.
This ground-breaking initiative involves more than 20 companies, together accounting for 25% of the metro’s electricity consumption, forming a dedicated customer base for a renewable energy generation facility.
By reducing the energy demanded from Eskom, loadshedding could be significantly reduced. Once the renewable energy project is firmly established, there is scope for other businesses to sign up, to the benefit of the entire metro.
The recently increased tariffs imposed on residents and small business that signed up to “go green” initiatives with solar power are unfortunate.
While tariff adjustments may have been needed to achieve cost reflectivity, the chamber will focus on finding solutions to keep encouraging small-scale solar electricity generation.
There is no arguing our energy outlook is highly challenging.
However, recent developments have shown that by working together as business, and by developing a creative, collaborative, but at the same time activist, relationship with government and other stakeholders, we can make a significant difference and build a brighter future for the generations to come.