Page 3 - Energize February 2021

FROM THE EDITOR:

A turtle on a fence post

by Roger Lilley, Now Media

An old African proverb says that when you see a turtle on a fence remove these wires, they are attacked and require police
post, you know it didn’t get there on its own. In like manner, protection. But as soon as the technicians and police have left
South Africa’s electricity supply service didn’t get into the mess the scene, the wires are almost immediately reconnected.
it’s in on its own. It had help. Besides the damage such vandalism does, the practice itself
Apparently, the proverb originated in Ghana and was used to often proves fatal. The shocking images on social media in
make the point that just as a turtle cannot climb a fence post, and October 2019, of a severely burnt and very dead man, hanging on
must be put there by someone, it's impossible to succeed in life a crossbar of a railway overhead catenary wire structure vividly
without help from others. This is a positive application of the displayed the risks involved in tampering with electrical
proverb. But it proves true for negative applications too. infrastructure. Yet it continues and many more people die.
South Africa’s electricity supply service is largely unreliable, It seems that the authorities believe the solution to be the
expensive, and inadequate. And it’s getting worse. But it didn’t get replacement of ageing equipment with new equipment. But the
there by itself. It’s a turtle on a fence post. It had help. country cannot afford the costs involved in building new power
If we could blame the need for load shedding, and the frequent stations. The cost overruns at Medupi and Kusile demonstrate
breakdowns in distribution equipment which plague all users of this point.
electricity, simply on ageing equipment, we might say that the The suggestion that we need a new nuclear power station
turtle had climbed the fence post. But that’s not the case. when the existing new-build coal-fired power stations are still
It’s true that most of South Africa’s generating units, incomplete is both ridiculous and absurd.
transmission network and distribution equipment is old. Ridiculous because the country cannot afford to wait ten or
Furthermore, we expect ageing equipment to become unreliable more years for another mega-sized new-build to come online, nor
over time. can it afford to cover the cost of such a new-build. Absurd
How did the turtle get on the fence post? Or, if you prefer, how because new generation technologies (including energy storage
did the country’s electrical service get into its current state? systems) offer far shorter build times and significantly lower build
The reason is not hard to find. Despite knowing that essential and operating costs than a new nuclear power plant.
equipment is getting older and is likely to fail, maintenance of this All South Africans need access to reliable, affordable
equipment has been neglected for far too long. Thus, using the electricity to power businesses and grow the economy and
argument that breakdowns are caused by ageing equipment is no reduce unemployment. Every South African home should be
excuse. Rather, it’s an indictment of poor management. supplied with electricity because access to electricity provides
Eskom has repeatedly admitted that maintenance of its access to safe and clean cooking, heating and lighting. It powers
equipment has been neglected or poorly done. Sometimes the access to the internet, to education, to entertainment, to
work needed would take longer than the utility can afford to keep security, to dignity. It’s an essential step in reducing the
the units offline. At other times, the work cannot be undertaken inequalities in our society.
because the money allocated for maintenance has been used for How can universal access to electricity be achieved? Again,
other things. this turtle can’t climb the fence post – someone will have to put
But it’s not just Eskom. Many of the country’s municipalities it there.
have failed in their duty – enshrined in law – to provide rate payers It is my contention that it is the duty of the state to ensure
with safe, reliable, affordable electricity. Municipalities charge that the basic infrastructure for the provision of both water and
users more per kWh of electricity consumption than they pay electricity is in place. All such equipment should be regarded as
Eskom. The difference should be used to fund upgrades, repairs essential to the overall service and be protected accordingly.
and maintenance. Unfortunately, many municipalities spend the Thus, the state is duty-bound to prosecute all those who
profit they make on the sale of electricity on other things. Some maliciously damage infrastructure, or steal, misappropriate, or
municipalities don’t even pay Eskom for the electricity they have mismanage funds intended for infrastructure maintenance, or fail
sold to users. in their duty to maintain, repair or upgrade equipment to prevent
Certain members of the public carry some of the blame too. In the failures we have become so accustomed to. The question is,
an attempt to gain access to free electricity, electrical will those charged with the responsibility to ensure the country
infrastructure, such as substations and distribution transformers, has what it needs to provide a “better life for all” step forward and
are vandalised. There are documented cases where wires are put this turtle on the fence post?
connected to streetlights and substations to provide power to
private dwellings. And when Eskom or municipal technicians Send your comments to rogerl@nowmedia.co.za

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