RobinH

ESKOM has become an ineffective nightmare drain on citizens. No performance bonuses this year, please.
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MommaC

Haai vokit. I'm moving to Botswana. I'll still get Eiskom electricity but at a third of the price.
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Tabza325is

And the citizens will complain moan but at the end of the day they will submit to authority and they will pay...
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MOKOPANEDUDE

Zuma upgrading his house in inkandla with amount of R236m that must help the poor as subsidy to eskom
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eltybots

ur goverment refused to invest in mmamabula power project wey eskom wil b buying power from botswana cos of large quantities of coal available.Electricity wil hv bin cheaper so is because of ur country ignorant bigbrother mentality and wil find itself isolated. so u r not welcomed here unless u r a DR or investor
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RobinH

Tabza: So what would you suggest we do? Buy generators and end up paying a fortune for petrol?
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bytheway1

Further crippling an already crippled society. It is a shame! And who is worst of? The poor! ANC... where are you?
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Mogwapatholo

It also suggests the increases are another way of forcing consumers to use less electricity.Cheap electricity would result in increased energy demand, which would in turn lead to more pressure on generating capacity and require the acceleration of infrastructure expansion.
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I thought electricity is a basic service, how do you then control a basic service demand by increasing the prices like it's in open market. oh poor people. i'm already paying more than R1 per kilowatt with this increase i think it will be safe for me to start budgeting for solar system.




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Shredder

Mantle a tlo ella le metsi mo. Throw us back to the 70s. Take away your electricity man. We will use the candles and coal stoves. Nxa!!
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BopCat

I think it's time we took the government to task. The cost of living is going up at an alarming rate. This will eventually have to be absorbed by the companies in a form of salary increases which also still won't be enough, now my question is, what about those that are unemployed? We have to pay for medical aid, armed response and private education for our kids. If government delivered on their promises of safety, security and good health care system maybe then we would be able to afford such things as electricity and rising food prices.
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guiliano

They should meet us halfway by giving each household a solar power.
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MommaC

.... and they want to GROW the economy?
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Tabza325is

@RobinH
Tabza: So what would you suggest we do? Buy generators and end up paying a fortune for petrol?

I'm just pointing our the obvious, we act helpless and with no alternative, no one wants to go through the effort of finding alternatives in thier lives. I've fitted a solar panel for my giza and water heating in my house, one of the other things I've been researching is reserve or UPS bateries which can story energy, currently my PC at home has a mini UPS when power goes out I can reroute the power to my TV or theatre system or PC, the power lasts 6 hours, also I have recharble flaurecent lights, it's not a perfect solution but when they is a power cut I'm able to have a few electronic in the house on, my point is things are becoming more and more expensive, everybody wants our money and we also want the same money they want us to pay, it's upto us to find alternatives for ourselves, moaning doesn't help since it leads to frustration, this fat cats will continue to raise the cost of living, petrol is going up all the time, I got tired of this and have altered my life style a bit, I now use the Guatrain to work, I have to try for myself, I can't moan and complain anymore, when I look at my badget now I'm able to save money end of the month. Change is inavetable we can't continue with our old exhuasted routins, money is becoming scires...
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BopCat

@guiliano
Unfortunately those are apparently meant for the poorest of the poor, I think the other word used in Tshwane is indigents. Only the poorest of the poor still get the 6000 liter free water and 100 kWh electricity. If you're a taxpayer like me, you'll have to buy.
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ShadesOfGrey

A shining example of our SOE at work.

Of course just like a petrol increase, an increase in electricity means bigger costs to industry and commerce meaning knock on effects as those costs are passed on to consumers, meaning our rands buys less. It's an insidious invisible tax that we as citizens have to pay for the inefficiencies and failures of our guavament.


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Tlakenyobehle!

Tlakenyobehle!
thy run this country like an NGO always provide free food free houses free electricity free spear and increease rates and taxes by 100% to the middle working class
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the people who will afford water and lights in this coutry will be the one that get this services for free
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BopCat

@Tabza325is

But what about those that cannot afford to buy some of those, UPS and solar geysers don't come cheap. What about people that rely on buses and taxis as their only means of transport in other provinces? I don't think it would be sustainable to give things out for free, the govt could maybe meet us halfway and still also leave me with a few choices, don't beat us into submission like they're trying to do with e-tolls. Give me alternatives, if you make electricity more expensive, what is the cheaper alternative.
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edna

Mmmmxxxiiimmmmmm!!!!!! Really now!If it's not electricity and petrol. Fokof maan!!
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candilious

@MommaC-Morning you can say that again
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16-12-1838

What a way to boost economic growth, attract foreign investment and create employment...double the price of electricity! What a superb idea, you just gotta love African economic theory!
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RobinH

Candi Hi there.
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Tabza325is

@BopCat, I know they don't come cheap, but I don't get why the middle class is always complaining, if you can afford a middle class house and a car, then why can't you make an effort for such altenatives, people living in poverty are already affect by high prices, some bare the sacrifice of living in a shack without electricity so we can not hide behind them, the poor are already using the unrealiable public transport system, my altenative is to the guy who has a car and complains about petrol all the time, if they have access to public transport in the direction of thier work place or can organise a group transport then why not instired of complaining and staying in the comfort zone of your car. The poor are already feeling the affect of everything that can go wrong in this country, the middle class still has a chance to save the little money they are left with after monthly debts with a change of life style. All I'm saying is it doesn't help to moan anymore let's do something for ourselves if we can, if you can't and have no altenative then....
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BopCat

@Tabza325is

The so-called middle class is really endangered and if this rise in the cost of living is not 'nipped in the bud' as always said then the poor will be extinct. We can't only look at the middle class, if we have to stretch our buck what will those without a buck stretch? What would your alternative to cheaper healthcare be? What about education? The middle class can't sit and do nothing, we are trapped between the rich and the poor, we are neither. The rich and the poor are the only ones the government has their focus on.
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RobinH

Tabza: Many people (myself inc luded) are ten ants and therefore cannot make the choice to "go solar" even if we wanted to. Electr icity has risen so ste eply that I hav en't used a he ater in y ears and have pow er effici ent bul bs in all my light fitt ings, maki ng sure that lights are not on when a room is vac ant. So I thi nk one is doing what one can. Gas is no longer a real ch eap alte rnative as far as c ooking is con cerned, and anyway, replacing stoves is expe nsive.
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RobinH

Tabza: As far as petr ol usa ge g oes, alth ough I recen tly bo ught a car (first time in 15 years that I have o wned a car) as I am no lon ger young, I still use pu blic tran sport (tr ain and ta xi) for com muting to and from w ork and mo st of my othe r tran sport, usi ng the c ar ON LY at ni ght and in he avy rai n.
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MAGAOGAO

WE AS CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY, NO ONE CARES FOR US. IT'S ONLY THIS INCOMPETENT, CHAMELEON EYED, UNLEVELED HEAD ZUMA IS CARED FOR. IT'S HIGH TIME SA COMES TO A STAND STILL. I'M SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING ZUMA ENJOYING AT MY POOR STATUS.
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RobinH

Tabza: So it is NOT a que stion of s itting ar ound doi ng no thing but mo aning at all, and I would sug gest that I am but one of many "mi ddle cl ass" people who are trying their level best to save resou rces and mo ney. BUT I WILL COMPLAIN! ESKOM HAS LED US BY THE NOSE AND ROB BED US BL IND FOR YEARS, without giving much in return at all.
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RobinH

Sorry about the mangled spellings, but getting anything longer than a few lines past this ridiculous censor is near impossible.
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BopCat

@RobinH

I agree fully with your response to Tabza325is, I have a small car I use to drive to work once two weeks in a month, I use a taxi when it's not my turn to drive to work, I even use the train, the unreliable metrorail express because the gautrain is too costly, I switch off my geyser as i have been doing for the past 6 years, I switch off the energysaver lights I have installed when I'm not in the room but that still amounts to R600+ electricity costs a month in a household of 3 adults and two children and that is before I pay the ±R500 for rates and taxes. What could one possibly do to cut the cost even more? It's really getting tougher by the day in SA.
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jakanrada

I think ANC must change his SLOGAN, when ANC say BETTER LIVE FOR ALL, and TOGETHER WE CAN DO MORE,
ANC must say from now on: WELCOME TO THE CLUB OFF MONEY MAKING
They must say we fighting for the POOR, the POOR have been left behind therrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee.
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Tabza325is

@BopCat, That's my point the middle class is already being stretched too thin and this fat cats are milking us like cows, the poor are already feeling the effect of being stratched too thin, life has milked them dry which is why they are poor, once you are at the bottom they is no room for comfort zones, have you seen how packed metrorail trains get, the poor are already going through the effects of were the middle class is going if things continue on this road. This is why I've decided to be stingy with my money and look for alternatives in my life, you are right when you say we can't seat down and do nothing, this is why I say we must think for ourselves and do things for ourselves, the rich don't care about us, the poor are already at the bottom of capitalism and barring all the after-math in full effect, the middle class still has a chance to be stingy with thier money if we make changes to our life style, the fat cats see this opportunity and will continue to rise thier prices and milk the middle class dry, when we drive on the highway all they see is cash cows, when we bu.y houses in subarbs all they see in us is cash cows, when you apply for credit all they see is a cash cow, if you flush you sh1t down the toilet all they smell in you is a cash cows and will devise every method possible to milk us...
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BopCat

@Tabza325is
The 'stragedy' they use is divide and rule, the moment you start thinking "I and them", that is the end. If we start doing things collectively, we can achieve more. We need to stand up to govt as citizens of this country, not the rich, middle class or the poor. The one thing we have in common is we are citizens and if things go bad they affect us all, not in the same way but the fact remains, they affect us all. I'm no economist but I suppose there's something that could be done to contain this rising cost of living. Pravin, maak 'n plan asseblief broer.
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Tabza325is

@RobinH, I'm also planing on buying a small engine cars, my cars is a petrol hungry monster a beast in the street, I wont sell but I am planing on getting a small engine car, especially the Honda Jazz, this is what I mean by life style change, let get things which are practical and beneficiary to our current circumstances, sports range cars are no longer practical in this modern day small fuel effeciant city cars are now more practical. One thing I hope can change is we need cycling lanes and infrustrucutre, especially around train stations, I want to be able to cycle from my home to the Gautrain station, even when I get to JHB CBD I want to be able to rent a bike and cycle from the station to work, this would mean I only fill my monthly card for transport, cycling is fre.e energy and exercise...
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BopCat

@Tabza325is
I think you are in the upper middle class, close to rich hence you are able to make such changes. I want to buy a 250cc bike to commute with but R40k is not a small amount. What to you might be a downgrade or change of lifestyle is to a lot of South Africans better than what they already have.
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Tabza325is

@BopCat, Nope I'm not, I've alway been stingy ever since I was in school I was stingy as hell meaning I was never into trend or fashion so in high school I've always been able to save pocket money I got from my parents, I learned to save at a young age. As soon I started working I never bothered with clothing accounts, if I wanted to bu.y something I made sure I saved for it first, mainly I'm a gamer and would spend on a PC or Video game console than go out drinking every weekend, so you can imagine after getting married my wife and I with our joint account were able to afford our first house in Kempton Park, I'm 32 this year and still don't have kids, my wif.e is 29. I'm not swimming in money I'm just stingy with my money, if I don't see any savings by month end I get paranoid, I've developed a habit of always having something in my savings every month, my motor in life is that verse from Snoop Gine and Juice " with my mind on my money and my money on my mind" stingy as hel.l.
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RobinH

Tabza, Sir, I am way below your standard of living. I don't even talk about sports range cars, and with respect, I WALK most of the time, using taxis and so on only for journeys that would take 45 minutes or more to walk. So though I respect what you are saying, and applaud you for your efforts, believe it or not, there are people who have already downscaled considerably, by both choice and economic necessity.
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sim246

Its time we have innovative competition to Eskom. I have the solution!
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Nongoloza24

Izinyokanyoka hai izinyokanyoka
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BopCat

@Tabza325is
How do you save if you have no surplus? That is my question. Clearly you're not stretched to limits if you can still save. You're using Gautrain, which tells me you are in a position of a reasonably comfortable life. Gaming can be as expensive as drinking if you're a serious gamer. Anyway my brother I say, bophelo ba South Africa bo ntse bo ya bo tura and with time if we carry on worrying only about ourselves and not worrying about the next man we're gonna end up with a gap like the one you see in major cities and countries of Africa where opulence and squalor are neighbours.
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Sfefenyana

ESKOM mst bring back Jacob Maroga
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19Doubleiets

Eish!!! Motlakasi ne... And please, let us not make ESKOM go on strike, because we'll definately bath with cold water
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shrink7

time to call that guy to re-engineer my gas-meter, tired of being a good SA citizen.
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Solm

@Tebza uyangibulala chief with that song.LOL. I think its time to take stock now, how much electricity are we sending to neighbouring countries that dont pay for it?How much money are these countries owing us?The last time I checked, when Mbeki was President, Zim owed us billions on electricity bill and we still kept supplying them.I wonder what is the position now.I think we need to take stock now and start accounting for every kilowatt.We cant keep subsidising neighbouring countries.On the other hand, something is terribly wrong with how Eksdom is run.Other than SARS, is there anything that works efficiently in this country?
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ShadesOfGrey

The solution is easy. Eskom must be split into two entities - one responsible for generation and one for distribution.

Distribution remains a SOE responsible for the cables, substations and transformers to get electricity to the consumers. Generation must be privatized and is solely responsibly for generating electricity that is loaded on the distribution network.

This means that other private electricity generation companies can be formed that also supplies to the network, thereby creating competition and so driving prices down. Sadly with our current nationalist government I don't see this happening.
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!!!Sinudeity!!!

Hehehe, you see the ANC through its Hitachi deal, is profitting from the increase in electricity. Its in the ANC's interest for us to pay more for electricity, because they will then earn more money.

You are being screwed by your own party.
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Vongsta

We are screwdrivered!
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Vongsta

We are scr*wdrivered mafra fess
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Vongsta

Mafra fess we are Sc rewe d.
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MophemeKoPitori

Can Someone wake me up in this nightmare! It seems like everything that I'm seeing this days is running away from me except sheer poverty.

I'm screwed
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MommaC

BopCat

Don't switch your geyser off unless you are going away for a few days. It actually takes more electricity to heat a geyser from cold than it does to just maintain the heat. It also stuffs up your geyser. Things to watch out for are chargers and anything with a standby on them.
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shrink7

when are we going to start buying oxygen, i want to prepare myself now, i think is the only thing that we don't pay for DIRECTLY.......remember carbon tax???
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RobinH

MommaC: AGreed. This "info" churned out on TV is not all that accurate. Your explanation is spot on. Switching the geyser on and off on a daily basis not onloy uses mpre electricity, but puts a strain on the geyser as well. Similarly fridges.
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Vongsta

shrink7
when are we going to start buying oxygen, i want to prepare myself now, i think is the only thing that we don't pay for DIRECTLY.......remember carbon tax???
________________________________

@Shrink7................Eish and Fart.... very soon will be paying to release the gas....Nxa!!!!!!!!
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MommaC

RobinH

Yea, I fell for it and was switching the geyser off and the guy who came to fix it then explained that it was a VERY costly exercise. Now it just has a blankie and stays on (except for once every 5 years when I get to go away for a break)
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Vantyi

''It also suggests the increases are another way of forcing consumers to use less electricity'' That is just stupid.
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somaartakeit

Comeon pips be reasonable our leaders have to spending money for their opulence lifestyles, so we the cash cows must surrender the udder to be milked, as the tax base is shrinking ppl now have to pay more tax for the gov to makeup for the loses they make as economically active ppl seek alternatives, you know if a fraction of this money was re-invested back to teh ppl I'd be able to forgive this but no it goes in the back-pockets fo the corrupt, but then majority voted for this corruption I guess we have to put up with it
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somaartakeit

has anybody ever thought abt solar panels? smart ppl move with times, come on SA there are less expensive alternatives to energy,
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asaowe

I blame capitalism
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