NERSA and the Eskom debacle: how to really protest!
How do you protest against a price increase 'allowed' by the National Energy Regulator (NERSA)? Given that Eskom is a complete monopoly and as a consumer of electricity, you really don't seem to have a choice but to pay an additional 9%+ towards a failing infrastructure that is undoubtably in a death spiral of it's own making. The former poster boy or girl of energy companies in the world, is now the epitome of a white elephant, holding the country to ransom.
The best protest is always to hit them where it hurts the most, so how do you go about achieving this? The answer is easier than you think and ultimately you will end up investing in yourself. The cost of PV or more commonly known as solar systems now run at about 89c a kWh. Eskom is now in excess of R1,25c per kWh. The capital outlay is what deters most people from taking the plunge. The upside of solar systems is that after you have paid off the initial capital, you essentially have free power! but wait! there is more!
South Africa is arguably blessed with the 3rd best environment in the world for solar. We have an abundance of sun, we on occasion exceed 30 degrees on a summer day (too much heat is actually bad for PV panels). Storage technology is also improving radically on an ongoing basis, so much so that Freedom Won LiFePO4 batteries will give you a 10 year warranty, you just could not achieve that with the lead option. Sadly there are some down sides but the pros by far outweigh the cons....
Should you have a run of a few rainy days in a row, you will need to then rely on your battery back-up. That is if you opted for a hybrid type system. If you opted for the grid-tied option, the MPPT will automatically go looking for Eskom to power you until there is enough sunlight to generate power through your panels.
The bottom line is that the best form of protest is to hit them in the pocket, thus securing your own power production for the long term, and not being held to ransom by those trying to justify their own existence. No more, load shedding, no more costs beyond your control, no more lost production for your business. There are great examples of companies going completely off the grid, like Savuti Lodge in Botswana. They were so impressed, that their game viewers and even their boats are all powered by solar and Lithium Iron batteries.
While the late adopters weigh up the point at which to take the plunge, the early adopters have not looked back and are reaping the benefits of being reliant on themselves. The graph on their amortisation table looks better every time ESKOM hold South Africa to ransom.
Start the protest, chat to us, we are happy to help.