For those of you living around the world you are lucky not to experience load shedding because for one it is highly depressing living via a time table. This should never be the case and I know even I could fix this problem within a 12 month period. This is not rocket science and is all about corruption when buying coal and diesel. Take the coal and diesel element away and load shedding would disappear over night.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved a report published by Eskom which will change how we experience load shedding in the future. The new layout has made room for Levels 15 and 16. If we consider things are bad enough on level 4 or 5 they obviously felt a need to adjust these levels maybe with what is to come.
Up till now we have had rolling blackouts so one area could experience a schedule of 4 hours off and 8 hours on but how it will work now for instance in a Level 8 would mean up to 6 hours being shed at once. This level is actually quite common and 6 hours is a long time in one hit. Most back up battery powered systems offer 8 hours only and they are limited to what items they can power. A level 16 is when 80% of the grid is shut down for a 32 hour period.
Can you imagine the mayhem this will cause for not only residential, but for businesses. If your power is turned off at 8am it would return the following day at 4pm. The cost of providing the back up electricity is what concerns me because the prices of every single item we purchase will have to be adjusted upwards.
Thankfully at home we would not have this worry because we are going off he grid and it will happen some time in May with fingers crossed before the elections. I somehow expect this new load shedding format to start a short while after the elections and maybe even after a few days.
I honestly hope that this new level is not implemented because the country will not cope and will result in business shut downs creating severe job losses like we have never witnessed before. Already the economy is on a knife edge with around 40% of the population unemployed.
The only thing that could save South Africa from heading into the precipice of unknown territory is a new Government and to be quite honest that is not happening unless you believe in fairies. The chances of that happening are slim to none due to the way the masses think and it is all based on tribal mixed with the history of the Apartheid era. Most of he voting population are uneducated and have no idea what the implications mean for themselves by voting differently.
My only fear right now is to pay for the solar installation before there is no supply because this will create more demand to get off the grid. I am still waiting on the plans and final quotes for a 20 kwh system. This will be more than sufficient to stay off the grid and more importantly never going back. There will be a few houses in the area that will become lighthouses with the majority having limited back up power that would never be sufficient to take you off the grid completely. From what I have seen most are on a 8Kwh system which is basically what my generator offers so this would mean they cannot even boil a kettle or use the microwave.