A primer for South African pessimists: how to cope with the current energy crisis
Posted on January 20th, 2008 by Richard Catto 5,885 views
Reading a number of blogs, I’ve discerned a common theme – rampant pessimism and predictions of certain doom for all of us, as a direct result of the current energy crisis.
I find it amazing how some South Africans are so eager and quick to paint South Africa in the darkest possible shades of black, given any setback. It’s as if the problems which afflict us are unique and discernible nowhere else in the world. For every problem that arises in SA, the knee-jerk answer is that these things do not and could not possibly occur elsewhere, ever. The implied theme is that a BLACK government, any BLACK government, is incompetent and incapable of responsibly governing any country.
Fact is, California experienced an electricity crisis which lasted from June 2000 through November 2003. This crisis was precipitated by market manipulation by the State of California. They imposed price controls which led to a situation where utility companies had to pay more for electricity than they could sell it for, and so production (of electricity) fell, companies went bankrupt and consumers experienced rolling black-outs.
I’d like to emphasize that this happened in a FIRST WORLD country. Furthermore, the State of California has the largest economy of all the states in the US. So it really is disingenuous to continually conclude that mismanagement, flawed delivery and total screw ups are the sole purview of Third World countries. Corruption happens everywhere, every day.
I’m very confident that any and all mishaps that occur in South Africa will be met with the same predictable response – black governments are useless!
If a bridge were to collapse, for instance, I’m certain that a million or more unhappy South Africans would make odious comparisons between our country and first world countries. I’m waiting for that to occur, and while I wait, I’m keeping this bit of ammo in reserve:
Design flaw cited in U.S. bridge collapse
Not that I’m expecting the imminent collapse of any bridges, but you never know. What I’m saying here is that people all over the world make mistakes, act irresponsibly, make incorrect predictions about the pace of growth of an economy and otherwise manage to fuck things up in all the same ways that we do.
In a way, it is actually a compliment that we are experiencing this electricity crisis because it came about due to our economy’s unexpected high growth rate – much higher than expectations. That is a good thing, per se. The only thing that makes it bad, is that we have temporarily run out of power to keep it all aglow and working.
So, although, the power crisis is apparently set to grow worse in the immediate short term, it doesn’t mean that things will remain that way.
The question you gotta ask yourself, is "Do you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution?"
Here’s the Problem:
And here’s an example of a solution (there are more):
- Toshiba Builds Ultra-Small Nuclear Reactor
- Village invited to test cheap, clean nuclear power
- Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor
What do I think is going to happen?
I think that South African businesses will find creative solutions to solve their energy problems. I believe that Eskom and the South African government will take effective measures to limit the damage to our economy.
The IOL article (linked above) lists several measures that Eskom is taking to resolve this problem, among them a subsidy program to assist homeowners to install solar heat. Eskom is actually prepared to pay part of your costs to install solar panels, if you wish to do so now. That’s something you will enjoy benefits from long after the energy crisis is over.
So, please my fellow South Africans, it’s not all doom and gloom.
The real question you should be asking yourself (if this applies to you) is why are you so prepared to believe the worst every time something goes wrong?
Why do you really lack confidence in South Africa?
Is it a black thing?
Tags: energy crisis in South Africa, Eskom, is it a black thing?
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