WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-02-04 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
[This makes sense. I was debating with people how practical this is. Jan]
By Clayton Barnes
Those who fail to comply with the city’s planned 10 percent energy-saving strategy could only face penalties in a year.
This comes as energy specialists predict that failure to save power now will result in a catastrophe later.
This week Cape Town mayor Helen Zille announced wide-ranging proposals the city was considering as a first step to reduce power usage by 10 percent.
These followed a meeting with Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin, Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica, and Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
At the meeting Zille pledged that Cape Town would cut its power usage by 10 percent, even if it meant introducing a tariff penalty system for those who fail to use power sparingly.
However mayoral spokesperson Robert McDonald said the tariff system could be introduced only in 2009 as the city first needed to investigate how the penalty system would work.
“Right now the city is just giving advice on how residents and businesses can save,” said McDonald.
“If they don’t save and cut down, they will be hit with more power outages.”
But energy consultant Belinda Petri said many South Africans would ignore the warnings unless they faced hefty bills.
“Warnings and voluntary solutions are often not sufficient,” said Petri. “South Africa is in a crisis and it’s up to everyone to adapt their lifestyles accordingly.
“A simple example was the water shortage in Cape Town not too long ago.
“People were warned to use water sparingly, but still used it in excess. However when the city started rationing and implementing penalties, the water shortage was suddenly resolved.
“Maybe hefty bills and penalties are the answer.”
Petri said the government should start looking at incentives for people and businesses that were saving energy. “There have to be rewards for those playing the game, such as cheaper tariffs.”
Addressing the City of Cape Town’s council meeting on Wednesday Zille said there were a number of propositions the city needed to consider to achieve the target and prevent further large-scale power cuts in the Cape.
Short-term solutions included businesses operating without air-conditioning for the next four years. Unless needed for the storage of fresh produce, commercial enterprises would also be expected to switch off all cooling units. Exterior decorative lights on business and council-owned properties should be switched off, and households should agree to switch off geysers between 5pm and 10pm.
Zille said if every household focused on saving 10 percent of its own consumption, it would go a long way to achieving the city’s goal.
Meanwhile, in Durban, Ethekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe has indicated that middle-class residents could bear the brunt of the government’s power rationing system.
This comes as residents await details on whether the government’s power rationing will be the same for every household, or based on the average consumption levels of each individual household.
“Asking a family of two people to cut one of their two geysers and swimming pool heaters will be fairly easy. But to ask a family of 10 living in a four-roomed house will be difficult. We will target those sectors which will make a difference,” Sutcliffe said.
Concern is mounting among householders that not only will they be forced to drastically change their lifestyles, they will also have to fork out thousands of rands for expensive solar equipment and its installation.
The shortage of electricity has prompted government to introduce power rationing and quotas as alternatives to frequent blackouts, which have left residents and industry in the dark for hours and threatened to bring the country’s economy to its knees.
In the government’s quest for a 10 percent reduction in power use for households and 15 percent for the commercial sector residents are being encouraged to invest in solar powered water heating systems and units.
The new system will require the installation of electrical devices to enable city authorities to switch off power supply to items such as geysers and swimming pool heaters.
Earlier this week the eThekwini Municipality said electricity monitoring units or “ripple controls” would be fitted to houses in KwaZulu-Natal within six months.