RESPONSE TO ITEM 8, PP. 21-23, ANNEXURE A, SECOND REPORT ON RESOLUTIONS OF THE MAYORAL COMMITTEE, PRESENTED AT THE COUNCIL MEETING OF 31 JULY 2008
PROF DC BAKER - CLR WARD 46
Mr Speaker, this is an important report dealing as it does with sustainable energy efficiency, renewable energy and demand side management. The pity is that it is long overdue.
Some months ago our esteemed colleague Councillor Vickey Bosch challenged us to think outside the box with regards to renewable energy. Unfortunately our options are somewhat limited. The nuclear option is still a long way off, wind energy in the City is a non-starter essentially because of its very mild weather. Councillor Clive Napier and I have already made a motion to the effect that solar water heating should be used in all new housing developments, and that is about the sum total of renewable energy. Oh yes, hydropower – that is truly a long way off – in the Congo to be exact. While we have the technology, as adequately illustrated by the Cahora Bassa scheme, the political difficulties in implementing such a scheme are legion.
We are left thus with refurbishing our power stations in the City, or implementing demand side management as a matter of urgency. Mr Speaker, Sir, there was a time when ESKOM would gladly have made significant financial contributions for us to do the latter. Now it too pleads poverty along with the rest of our hard pressed fellow South Africans.
But let’s look at demand side management. During the recent load or rather people shedding exercise, and I did say people, we were all massively inconvenienced - No Freudian slip – that is exactly what happens – you shed people. People are unable to get to work, or get back home. Because many are hourly paid, they are unable to put food on the table. Those in taxis and motor vehicles spent many fruitless hours sitting in the City’s instant parking lots as the streets became. In short the impact on productivity is massive.
Some time back IST, a company based in our fair City, did a comprehensive study of demand side management (31 May 2006). It found that every 100 000 hot water geysers consume some 63 Megawatts of energy on average. It is not unreasonable to expect that our City has in the vicinity of some 400 000 of these geysers with a consumption of around 250 Megawatts. During the recent rolling blackouts our City tried to shed 200 Megawatts at a time.
Mr Speaker, the way demand side management would work in this case is that power to geysers would be remotely turned off during peak demand periods, and turned on again during the early morning hours when the demand was low. In short, Sir, if we had efficient demand side management, we would not have to go into the unacceptable practice of people, sorry, load shedding.
Right now plainloads full of the appropriate equipment to implement such a scheme should be winging their way to the Republic. Many teams of budding BEE electrical contractors should be in training. But what is happening? We hear too little. Granted there will be an initial financial cost, which will be offset in long terms savings. Oh, but I forget, then there would less money for our senior officials and members of the ANC to live it up at the City’s expense.
Mr Speaker, the time to implement demand side management was yesterday. Tomorrow is already too late.
PROF DC BAKER - CLR WARD 46
Mr Speaker, this is an important report dealing as it does with sustainable energy efficiency, renewable energy and demand side management. The pity is that it is long overdue.
Some months ago our esteemed colleague Councillor Vickey Bosch challenged us to think outside the box with regards to renewable energy. Unfortunately our options are somewhat limited. The nuclear option is still a long way off, wind energy in the City is a non-starter essentially because of its very mild weather. Councillor Clive Napier and I have already made a motion to the effect that solar water heating should be used in all new housing developments, and that is about the sum total of renewable energy. Oh yes, hydropower – that is truly a long way off – in the Congo to be exact. While we have the technology, as adequately illustrated by the Cahora Bassa scheme, the political difficulties in implementing such a scheme are legion.
We are left thus with refurbishing our power stations in the City, or implementing demand side management as a matter of urgency. Mr Speaker, Sir, there was a time when ESKOM would gladly have made significant financial contributions for us to do the latter. Now it too pleads poverty along with the rest of our hard pressed fellow South Africans.
But let’s look at demand side management. During the recent load or rather people shedding exercise, and I did say people, we were all massively inconvenienced - No Freudian slip – that is exactly what happens – you shed people. People are unable to get to work, or get back home. Because many are hourly paid, they are unable to put food on the table. Those in taxis and motor vehicles spent many fruitless hours sitting in the City’s instant parking lots as the streets became. In short the impact on productivity is massive.
Some time back IST, a company based in our fair City, did a comprehensive study of demand side management (31 May 2006). It found that every 100 000 hot water geysers consume some 63 Megawatts of energy on average. It is not unreasonable to expect that our City has in the vicinity of some 400 000 of these geysers with a consumption of around 250 Megawatts. During the recent rolling blackouts our City tried to shed 200 Megawatts at a time.
Mr Speaker, the way demand side management would work in this case is that power to geysers would be remotely turned off during peak demand periods, and turned on again during the early morning hours when the demand was low. In short, Sir, if we had efficient demand side management, we would not have to go into the unacceptable practice of people, sorry, load shedding.
Right now plainloads full of the appropriate equipment to implement such a scheme should be winging their way to the Republic. Many teams of budding BEE electrical contractors should be in training. But what is happening? We hear too little. Granted there will be an initial financial cost, which will be offset in long terms savings. Oh, but I forget, then there would less money for our senior officials and members of the ANC to live it up at the City’s expense.
Mr Speaker, the time to implement demand side management was yesterday. Tomorrow is already too late.
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