I recently moved house (after buying a place, instead of renting); and one of the "renovations" I did was to install a prepaid electricity meter. South Africa, it seems is the only country where prepaid electricity has taken off; which I think is a pity. Prepaid utility consumption (be it electricty, water or gas) is easier to manage and offers, in my opinion, far more flexibility than the standard billing methods.
The new prepaid electric meters are also very cool - the utility installs the tamper-resistant meter at the external distribution box (i.e. a straight swap with the old meter) and then provides the user with a remote unit that is used to indicate the value of electricity purchased, usage (accurate to the watt) as well as to buy more electricty etc. The interface unit communicates with the main unit via powerline ethernet - so another cool usage of technology.
As for the confusion - the contractor who installed the prepaid meter, installed it at the wrong house, even though I was given the unit. So, I paid for my neighbour's electricity for a week and the previous owner paid for mine. The guys at the City of Johannesburg offices were stunned at hearing about the mistake - and we all had a good chuckle. Even the contractor couldn't beleive his mistake ... although he blamed it all on his labourer. Personally, I blame them both - the labourer for not being able to do a simple job; and the contractor for not doing his supervision job correctly.
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
15 September 2010
19 March 2008
In support of the Eskom price increase
In all honesty, I did not think I would end up writing a post defending Eskom. But a recent conversation with Phathu, and Eskom's recent projected price hike has got me thinking.
South Africa's power crisis has two facets. The obvious is that there is the crumbling infrastructure, where the government did not take the advice given to them by Eskom, to invest and improve to meet the demands of the future. But the second is that, our utilisation of energy, especially electricity, is not very efficient. We use more electricity, and thus we have problems providing power - but are we utilising our electricity resources correctly.
Take geysers - how many South Africans switch them off when not particularly useful - say during most of summer? Even after load shedding started - how many people regularly switch them off? In fact, switching them off is not much of an issue - all that is required is to install a simple timer, costing about R600 (including installation when I last checked). And geysers themselves are a bit overspec'ed - the bachelor flat I am staying in right now (for this month) has a 150l geyser - how does one person possibly use that much hot water? In Brazil, and much of Peru, geysers were rare. Instead, many showers had an "instant" heater installed in the bathroom, and that would provide hot water. But I do not see that succeeding in South Africa - and anyway, the cost of replacing the plumbing will be too much of a deterrence.
In the capitalism theory, everything has a price. Under this theory, Eskom raising electricity prices is probably the best possible outcome. Instead of wasting energy, we will be forced to adapt - forced to switch off appliances when they are not being used, because otherwise we cannot simply afford to pay for the electricity. And off course the rich will still have no problems paying the higher price - but the rich do not stay rich by wasting away their money.
Ultimately, we need more electricity generation, and we need better electricity utilisation. Maybe, the price increase is the only realistic way to force people to use electricity better.
South Africa's power crisis has two facets. The obvious is that there is the crumbling infrastructure, where the government did not take the advice given to them by Eskom, to invest and improve to meet the demands of the future. But the second is that, our utilisation of energy, especially electricity, is not very efficient. We use more electricity, and thus we have problems providing power - but are we utilising our electricity resources correctly.
Take geysers - how many South Africans switch them off when not particularly useful - say during most of summer? Even after load shedding started - how many people regularly switch them off? In fact, switching them off is not much of an issue - all that is required is to install a simple timer, costing about R600 (including installation when I last checked). And geysers themselves are a bit overspec'ed - the bachelor flat I am staying in right now (for this month) has a 150l geyser - how does one person possibly use that much hot water? In Brazil, and much of Peru, geysers were rare. Instead, many showers had an "instant" heater installed in the bathroom, and that would provide hot water. But I do not see that succeeding in South Africa - and anyway, the cost of replacing the plumbing will be too much of a deterrence.
In the capitalism theory, everything has a price. Under this theory, Eskom raising electricity prices is probably the best possible outcome. Instead of wasting energy, we will be forced to adapt - forced to switch off appliances when they are not being used, because otherwise we cannot simply afford to pay for the electricity. And off course the rich will still have no problems paying the higher price - but the rich do not stay rich by wasting away their money.
Ultimately, we need more electricity generation, and we need better electricity utilisation. Maybe, the price increase is the only realistic way to force people to use electricity better.
16 March 2008
Traffic and Development
For the most part, Gauteng has a good road network. But the road system really lacks a congestion control mechanism. For example, on the outer ring roads that surround Washington DC, there is a third set of lanes that is only open during peak times, and open in the direction of where the major traffic goes. But it is not only a lack of capacity on the freeways - the bottlenecks really occur at the off ramps from the freeway.
There has been a lot of development in Gauteng - every corner is either a new shopping mall or housing complex, either being built or been built recently. Old charm - forget it. But with the new development, the surrounding infrastructure has not been developed with it. The roads have not been upgraded to handle the new influx of people. And, off course there is the electricity supply problem.
I have been stuck in traffic a few time already - but not going to and from work, because I live close enough to walk (and I do, most of the time). My new place, where I will move to once this month is over, is also fairly close to work. I see no reason to drive to work. But I don't see the traffic situation improving, even with the Gautrain - South Africans love their cars, and even the high petrol price does not seem to be much of a deterrence.
There has been a lot of development in Gauteng - every corner is either a new shopping mall or housing complex, either being built or been built recently. Old charm - forget it. But with the new development, the surrounding infrastructure has not been developed with it. The roads have not been upgraded to handle the new influx of people. And, off course there is the electricity supply problem.
I have been stuck in traffic a few time already - but not going to and from work, because I live close enough to walk (and I do, most of the time). My new place, where I will move to once this month is over, is also fairly close to work. I see no reason to drive to work. But I don't see the traffic situation improving, even with the Gautrain - South Africans love their cars, and even the high petrol price does not seem to be much of a deterrence.
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