Energy Management

________________________________________
On the 25th of February 2010 new electricity tariff increases have been announced. It was made public and final that NERSA has approved 3 tariff increases for 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) released its decision on Eskom’s tariff application. The final announcement has sent a strong message to both consumers and Eskom.
The tariff increases were announced as follows:
2010/11: 24.8%. This makes the average Eskom electricity price for post paid meters 41.31c per kWh.
2011/12: 25.1%. This makes the average Eskom electricity price for post paid meters 51.68 c per kWh
2012/2013: 25.9%. This makes the average Eskom electricity price for post paid meters 65.06c per kWh
The first increase will take effect on 1st of April 2010, which is the start of Eskom’s financial year, ironically enough also known as April Fools day.
It is to be remembered that the increases are arriving after the 31.3% increase in electricity tariffs from the 1st of July 2009, which was less than the 34% which Eskom asked for.
That said some municipalities can and probably will put an additional markup in addition to these increases, which in effect makes the increase in tariffs even greater than the once published.
We wrote in 2009 and asked, what happens 9 months from July 2009?
Now we know for sure that the increases in electricity prices have reached 107.1% since 2009 until 31st of March 2013.
The Star with Business Report on the 14th of October 2009 had an interesting article which detailed how much electricity one would pay on a R900 bill in 2009.
The paper has estimated the following:
In 2010/2011 the R900 will end up in a bill of R1,435
In 2011/2012 the R900 will end up in a bill of R2,080
In 2012/2013 the R900 will end up in a bill of R3,016
By the figures now published in February 2010, it looks like these estimates are getting closer to reality than we ever thought possible.
It is not only the electricity bill that will be crippling the economy directly. Indirectly there are goods and services that will increase due to such high electricity bills. Manufacturers, distributors and entire supply chains will pay more, a lot more than a household on their electricity bills, which of course they will pass down to the consumer in one way or another, even if not the entire amount.
The problem also lies with the fact that not only one company in the supply chain will do this, but many, hence one product from manufacturing to consumer can incur several small increases in price, which will add up to one larger increase.
Adding to that, many products can suffer of such increases if the production and distribution becomes more expensive due to electricity and compound also due to other increases in costs that as consumers we are far less aware of.
Where does this all lead to?
It leads us to take control of our power consumption immediately as a matter of necessity and it leads large organizations and leadership to look at alternative efficient and far most cost effective use and production of electricity.
If light saving light bulbs where an option until now; these may have become an absolute necessity, and if geyser timers where a consideration, now these have become a critical factor in reducing our monthly electricity bill.
Saving electricity is no longer optional, nor is it about saving the planet anymore; it is about saving our pockets and our budgets as consumers. We at least have the power to do that, and hope that leadership will have the power and the knowledge to deal with the bigger picture of the energy crisis.
We invite you to read more about saving on your electricity and monitoring your home to become and efficient electricity user: 6 Easy Ways to Save on Your Electricity Bills.

For more information on Energy Saving Monitors please visit: www.ElectricityMonitor.co.za