‘Hello darkness my old friend...'

No laughing matter

What is no joke is that an energy expert on Talk Radio 702 said earlier this week that it will take five to seven years for any new power stations to come online to address our increasing electricity needs. Our economy has boomed in the last decade and because no new power stations were built, our demand exceeds supply. They say this will get worse year on year and Eskom has informed the Government that it will not be able to supply any new large industrial and mining developments or investments with power. Apart from the dreadful implications for our economy, it sends a clear message to business that we need to become creative in our solutions as companies to ensure that we have power to run our companies and ensure our staff are all gainfully employed.

The mainstream media are reporting on the growing crisis - from questions from the public protector to Eskom, to calls from opposition political parties for an enquiry - and even the blogs are weighing in:

Eskom should do daily forecasts: DA http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3045&
art_id=nw20080113130331834C803896.

Call for tax strike over power
http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/default/display_article.aspx?
Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-1786_2253769.

Load-shedding is now a national disgrace
http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/hartley/2008/01/17/load-shedding-is-now-a-national-disgrace/.

Shedding my load in the dark - a bloggers perspective
http://groogle.co.za/2008/01/17/shedding-my-load-in-the-dark/.

And if the media isn't bombarding you with enough and you haven't bookmarked this site yet, here are some ‘Hints and Tips' to save energy from Power Alert, as well as enabling a check on which areas are experiencing problems: http://www.poweralert.co.za/poweralert3/hints/hints_and_tips_main.html?
PHPSESSID=6da1946ad9559c34a35bab7c08f35776.

Then there's this very useful article on power cuts and nutrition: http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Food_journey/15-2052-2948,34877.asp.

Some ‘light' relief

So when you've finished fuming at all the dark and dreary news, an email that got us cracking up was a suggestion to replace our national anthem ‘Nkosi Sikelele iAfrica' with that wonderful Simon & Garfunkel ditty: ‘Sounds of silence', which has the line ‘Hello darkness, my old friend…' in it.

Then there's that rather rude Leon Schuster song about Eskom and the powercuts doing the rounds; sorry, we can't attach it.

And then this email purporting to come from Es-kom (which we know it doesn't really, just a laugh at their expense). The accompanying pic may offend sensitive readers. In fact the tone of the email may also offend Eskom, but we're printing it anyway because we are HUGELY offended at having both our Cape Town and Johannesburg office without power at the same time this week, at times including the home suburbs of key staff, making it near impossible to get our newsletters out on time. (In fact this is also an opportunity to pay tribute to all those hotel coffee bars and the Mugg & Bean and other savvy coffee shops that let frustrated business people plug in to meet deadlines!).

Anyway the email goes like this:

Dear Electricity Customer,

Just a little note to let you know we understand your anger in the recent
price hike and power interruptions.

But it should be noted that you have no choice.

We are a big company and you will pay what we tell you.

You have no choice.

We have the power, you need the power.

So sad, too bad.

Sucks to be you.

We have enclosed a little picture to help outline our response.

Have a nice day and keep those cheques coming, losers!!!

Regards
ES-KOM

EmPOWERment

A client which has been bugging me to publicise the fact that it was smart enough to put in generator power to service the production needs of its client base, is Zach Haines from Audio Arts Africa. This ‘multi tasking production facility with more than 40 years service to the SA advertising/marketing industries' (their words) have accepted that the use of power generators throughout Africa is commonplace and requisite to the efficient running of any business in almost all countries and took the proactive step of installing a generator. “A multi-million Rand electronic media schedule is easily corrupted when production stops and cannot deliver broadcast material at deadline. There's no one to blame - but there's a huge bill to be paid. Nuff said,” said Haines.

They've taken ‘self-emPOWERment' to a new level and well done to them.

Serious tips to save laptop power

And lastly, some serious tips to save your laptop battery power, from HP, which timeously arrived in my inbox this morning while I still had power at home (touch wood), but not at the office…

South African businesses have become accustomed to countrywide power cuts as Eskom attempts to reduce demand on the national grid. With the proliferation of mobile computing, many businesses are reliant on notebook PCs to conduct their daily work. However, with power cuts occurring at random times notebooks users often find themselves with a battery that dies - bringing work abruptly to a halt.

“Users are relying more heavily on their notebooks for day-to-day computing, and the current situation that we are experiencing is hampering the productivity of South Africa's mobile workforce. There are, however, simple actions - as well as new innovations - that users can take advantage of to help their batteries last longer and stay productive,” says Nadia Hufkie, country category manager, Personal Systems Group, HP South Africa:

1. Disable or disconnect: Peripheral devices can drain a notebook's battery life, even when they are not in active use. Disabling or turning off external hard drives, DVDs, USB devices, wireless cards and other accessories when they are not needed can help reduce the power needed to load and run them every time the PC is started.
   
2. Dim it down: One of a notebook's biggest energy drainers is its screen. Most HP notebooks are equipped with Ambient Light Sensors, which automatically dim the screen in bright light. This prevents eyestrain and can save as much as an extra hour of runtime.
   
3. Manage your power: The power management utility of your notebook lets you set when your notebook goes into hibernation in Windows XP or the new sleep mode in Windows Vista.
   
4. Keep your cool: Notebook batteries should be used and stored at room temperature. Extreme temperatures can take a toll on battery life, causing irreversible capacity loss over time.
   
5. Take charge: New batteries should be fully charged and discharged the first few times they are used. This tells a battery's ‘memory' exactly how much charge it can hold. If your battery is not going to be used for more than two weeks, it should be removed from your notebook.
   
6. Give your battery a check-up: The HP Battery Check is a tool that tests the health of a notebook battery to ensure that everything is working properly. Windows XP users can download and install the utility while Windows Vista users can launch the tool from the Help and Support menu.
   
7. Carry a back-up: Busy mobile professionals may find it necessary to carry a spare, or purchase a second battery. HP provides two options. The HP Extended Life battery provides up to an additional five hours battery life, whilst the HP Ultra Capacity battery increases the battery life of an HP business notebook by up to 10 hours.