The Times: Prepare yourselves for Black Monday

Residential consumers are only saving 2 percent

From Monday, power cuts will become a regular phenomenon in South Africa, with blackouts guaranteed — even when Eskom has enough electricity. This comes after commercial and residential consumers failed to save the 10 percent required by Eskom to end power cuts.

by Thabo Mkhize

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NVDL: I think the same meter we see on TV saying the electricity supply in under pressure/critical etc ought to be informing us (perhaps constantly in a corner of the screen) more precisely - in fact exactly - what our percentage of saving is. Just give us a number. That way we can measure and respond in real time. This attitude from Eskom demanding savings by issuing a blunt statement isn't helpful. We can help to be part of the solution, but so can Eskom. If Eskom doesn't start playing ball - better than they are - I'd recommend street protests demanding the fat cats there take a pay cut, starting off with paying back their bonusses. The community can also be blunt when they feel they are being bullied.

I'd also suggest employers encourage employees to leave and arrive for work in a staggered manner. This prevents bottlenecking of demand both in terms of electricity usage (especially going home, cooking and washing), but also traffic flows on our highways. Even if bosses don't manage this, we can.