The latest addition to the Web sites catering to disgruntled Eskom users has been created by the power utility itself.
Eskom has been widely advertising a new Web site, www.poweringsouthafrica.co.za, which offers a dedicated discussion forum where those affected by load-shedding can air their views. Some of the comments made so far on the site include advice on using renewable energy sources, tips on how to learn more about power outages, as well as general rants and raves about Eskom's service.
The site also offers energy-savings tips, as well as a general question-and-answer section.
Andrew Etzinger, spokesman for Eskom, says the site serves a different function from the general Eskom site, which is why the two were separated. Also, there were some technical issues involved.
"We were being bombarded with load-shedding comment on the Eskom site when power went down, which affected performance. There were, therefore, technical bandwidth issues involved in making the decision to create a new Web site."
Etzinger says the aim of the site was also to offer an opportunity for honest, direct feedback, in conjunction with other stakeholders. Some of the other power-related links that feature on the site include www.powerofone.co.za, www.electrosense.co.za, www.savingenergy.co.za and www.laodalert.co.za.
The Eskom site comes hot on the heels of a number of Web sites generated by the public and organisations to complain about the power utility. Trade union Solidarity led the way with its Eskom stories site, which generated thousands of hits. Next in line was www.blackout.co.za, with Arrive Alive creating a page dedicated to power outages and their impact on traffic. Recently, a more humoristic site, Shed happens!, was created and offers, among other things, an array of Eskom jokes.
City Power and Eskom have created a structured load-shedding schedule for Johannesburg. However, the rest of the country is still dependent on the old Eskom schedule that has been widely criticised for being difficult to understand and for not being implemented properly.
Etzinger says Eskom has received requests from other municipalities to draw up similar plans to that being used by Johannesburg, but as there are more than 200 municipalities in the country, there would be no "big bang" solution. Rather, as new schedules were agreed upon, they would be communicated to the public, he notes.
This morning Eskom's Web site indicated power demand was stable and there was no load-shedding under way. Etzinger confirms this, but adds that "at some stage" load-shedding activities would have to resume, unless South Africans managed to save 10% of their consumption, in line with what industrial clients are doing.
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