Will we have power after the 2010 FIFA World Cup?

June 2010

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup coming to a close, Eskom appears to have kept its promise to deliver sufficient power supply for the duration of the tournament. The question now is, will Eskom be able to deliver uninterrupted power to the rest of SA after the event?

"South Africa's reserve margin is still not as large as it should be. With a few hundred thousand more tourists in the country at the moment, as well as the very cold weather sweeping across South Africa, Eskom has admitted that demand is substantial and it is likely to come under 'additional demand' during the tournament as a result," says Melody Redman, general manager of Budget Insurance Brokers.

Although Eskom is confident that it will be able to meet this year's power demand, supply will be stretched from 2011 to 2012, unless it develops more capacity. The Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power plants will come on stream in 2012 and 2014, respectively, providing a buffer - each will generate 4800 MW of power.

Before these are commissioned, however, power supply will be tight.

"It is therefore very clear that South Africans should still use electricity as sparingly as possible," says Redman.

Budget Insurance offers the following tips to conserve electricity:

Applying a bit of energy-saving strategy to your electricity usage can end up saving you money, and the country much-needed resources.

Dishwasher - Fill your dishwasher completely before operating and use short wash cycles, rinse-only cycles, mid-cycle turn-off and other features are designed for energy conservation as well as convenience.
Fridge - Don't overload your fridge as this uses more electricity. Don't open your fridge needlessly and switch on the energy saving switch if one is fitted to the appliance.
Freezer - Keep the freezer open for as short a time as possible to prevent the loss of cold air. Your freezer should be kept as full as possible to prevent heavy icing.
Microwave ovens - Defrost your food in the fridge instead of the microwave oven as it is more economical. Use your microwave oven to cook small to medium quantities of food - it is more economical to cook larger portions of meat in a conventional oven.
Washing machine - A front-loading washing machine uses less water and costs less to operate than a top loader. A washing machine uses the same amount of electricity for a full load as it does for a single item, so keep dirty clothes until a full load has accumulated.
Tumble dryer - Clean the lint filter in the tumble dryer after each operation to maintain full air flow and to maximise the drying efficiency. First choice would be to dry clothes outside, in direct sunlight, or use the tumble dryer in consecutive loads where possible as your dryer will be warm already and will save on initial energy consumption.
Heaters - Infrared heaters are more electricity efficient than other heaters. Oil heaters have a thermostat control switches the unit on and off as required. Electric blankets consume little electricity, so switch them to the highest setting and warm the bed just before climbing in and then switch them off.