Running a national electrical company gives you a leading edge on respective municipalities and how they run their electricity departments.

Having said that, it would be fair to say the Johannesburg grid is undeniably the most unstable and in particular in between Athol Oaklands and Corlett drive – Melrose Arch.
Apart from the precinct being the fourth largest consumer of electricity in the greater Johannesburg area, you think preferential treatment would prevail! Not a chance.

The last horror story was an High tension cable that blew up whilst they were trying to repair it. An instruction from metro power was to shut the entire lines leaving rolling black outs on the precinct and surrounds. A week later that same joint blew.

Jhb. City power may be under staffed, grids over loaded, poor workmanship – call it what you will – but if you work in Johannesburg – best get yourself a good back up solution!

Cape Town on the other hand has plenty power and the last black out in the cbd area was a distant memory. Ie: getting a generator in the Cape Town cbd area is potentially unecessary. At peak times Cape Town has been known to divert excess power on their grid to other cities (now that’s nuclear power of course from Koeberg, but still, it does the job!)

although, lets not forget when our happy Eskom worker dropped a bolt in the reactor about 3 years ago and blew up the stator. A new one had to be flown in from France. The papers made a riot out of that of course. Cape Town business’s went into shock mode and bought every conceivable back up solution there was. Needles to say, they lie dormant collecting rust and sea air.

Next chapter – Durban!

Who supplies my electricity?

A reading was taken on a 2000 amp power supply to investigate potential savings on monthly running costs for tenants.

Chris and Andrew from Growthpoint properties – Giloolys office park, bedfordview.

Electricity has become an essential part of our lives. However, there are incidents we may face with regards to electricity failures. There may be several factors, such as an overload leading to tripping, transmission failures, weather, storms, vandalism or faults that result in sudden outage impacting all our activities bringing them to halt.

Please don’t panic in such situations. You need to follow a few steps to manage power failures, be it at your home or office.
- Check if the power failure is only at your place or in the entire neighborhood.
- If the problem is only at your home or office, locate your mains switch, the controlling box for all your electricity internal transmission.
- Check the mains for fuse tripping or wiring burnt-out. Before opening the box, pull the liver down or switch off the board.
- Upon finding a fault or tripping, correct it immediately. Use reliable equipment.
- Do not touch any switch or plug, if you are not aware of the basics. Immediately call an expert electrician to fix the fault.
If the whole neighborhood is in dark, call the authorities responsible for transmission and restoration of electricity services in your area.

Eskom generates 90 percent of its electricity from thermal power stations. About 90 million tons of coal is used every year by the South African electricity public utility to power the grid that meet the energy of the nation. Low cost of coal mined from Gauteng and the northern Free State allows it to keep prices low and aid in national development.

Founded in 1923, about 92 years after Michael Faraday discovered electrical energy, Eskom now uses latest boiler technologies that converts water into steam and pressure that move large turbines. The revolving turbines are connected to a rotating magnet that generates electricity from kinetic energy.

Power utilities also run two hydro-power generating plants that supply electricity when demand peaks or sudden breakdown creates cuts. The water stored in dams drives huge turbines for power generation. However, electricity generation at these plants is subject to the water level of the dams.

A network of huge towers called pylons carry on aluminium and copper transmission lines across the country that carry electricity to various hubs. Known as the National Grid, this transmission network is looked after from a national control centre at Simmerpan, Germiston. Transformers and power stations erected at various distances help keep the voltage constant and minimize losses.

Ms. Barbara Murphy and Ms. Jewel Harris from Growthpoint Properties embarked on an ambitious project with the help of Schmidhauser Electrical to uplift a school in Hanover Park.

When we found the School , it was in very bad shape. The lights had been stolen, the roof had holes in it and windows were smashed. In particular the electrics were very unsafe. Open wires had been left in spaces accessible to children and the risk of electrocution was everywhere.

After a 4 month project we were happy to hand the school back in a much better condition than what we found it in. New lights had been installed in the ablutions and class rooms, distribution boards were made safe, eradicating any risk of our young learners getting hurt.

I was very proud to be a part of this charity drive and look forward to our next project with the team.

New lights in the classrooms with children from Belmor Primary

Stanton Williams, Eugene Joseph and Daniel Schmidhauser from Schmidhauser Electrical
Errol De Bruin and Barbara Murphy from Growthpoint Properties

A few simple steps can enable you to save electricity, go green and reduce your energy bills significantly. Make sure all home appliances are labelled for latest energy efficiency standards. Start from your kitchen. Operate the dishwasher when completely loaded and with cold water. Frequent heating or partial loads consume more electricity. Short wash cycles enable more energy saving.
Never overload your refrigerator or open its doors frequently. Allow it to operate at 10-20% less capacity in a place well served with air circulation. Set the temperature at required level, not too low. Cooking utensils must cover electric stove surface and do not fall short of it. Use pressure cookers and heat sensors to reduce energy consumption.

When operating microwave ovens, only out defrost food inside, else it consumes more electricity. Only cook small to medium quantity in microwaves. Wrap food in foils to save energy and time. Regularly service you home appliances and check faults. Small appliances, such as electric cattle, can be used for specific purpose and save use of stoves that consume more energy.

Use fluorescent lights that save energy and do not strain eyes. Make sure your wall painting or lamp shades do not have dark shades that call for more lighting. Air conditioning or home heating systems must be protected from dust and humidity that decrease their efficiency. Clean them regularly. Do not use television, radio and stereo at once. Place the geyser as close as possible to the electricity point.

No need to call for an expert to change a light bulb. Changing electricity lightbulbs is very simple and you only need to keep certain precautions in mind. Just follow the following steps in order.

Step 1: Ensure that you have the right replacement. Identify if it has a screw to unlock or it is directly inserted and procure tools accordingly. Keep a torch with you. If possible, use rubber gloves or clothes to make sure you do not receive any electricity shock caused by leakages.

Step 2: Turn off the bulb switch, remove plugs, if any, and also, as a precautionary measure, switch off the mains. Put on rubber shoes or stand on a wood.

Step 3: Take out the faulty bulb and carefully put the new ball at the right place. Tweak it slowly until the pins fit into their slots. For screw types, turn the bulb clock-wise to fit it tightly in the socket.

Step 4: Now switch on the mains and turn on the bulb switch. Ensure that the old bulb is discarded safely.

Never panic if any of your loved ones suffer from electrical shock or accident. Immediately turn off the appliance switch thats causing the shock or the main switch that regulates the electricity transmission at home. Remove the victim in contact with the appliance that cause the electricity shock and remove the plug as soon as possible.

Cover your hands with dry newspaper, wood, cloth or rubber gloves while pushing the shock victim away to prevent electricity transmission to your body. Refrain from touching any metal or wet parts linked to electricity flow.

Administer the first aid if injuries caused by shock or electricity accident are grave. Allow him to rest and check his pulse. Ensure the heart beat rate remains normal and the patient does not suffer from short breathing or breathlessness. If the condition of the victim worsens, call your doctor or move him to the nearest hospital.

Do not put ointment or water on electricity accident injuries. Keep them covered with a sterilized bandage rather.

Ensure that you do not face any safety problems caused by electricity at home. Carry on routine safety inspections for breakages, faulty appliances, missing parts and loose fittings at regular intervals. Signs of overheating or equipment tears can cause accidents. You must repair them at the earliest. Take adequate precautions for possible safety problems while using home appliances.

Always go for electricity equipment with labels and complying with standard certifications. Users must be aware of the basics of using plugs safely and sockets of required capacity. Never overload a plug or extension cord. Keep electricity wires and plugs away from children. Ensure cords have no breakage or scratches and they are not damaged due to overheating.

Never allow electricity to come into contact with water and cause short circuits. By not touching equipments with wet hand you can prevent shocks. Your home should be built at a safe distance from electrical sub-stations, power lines and pylons.

Senior citizens are vulnerable to electricity accidents. They must maintain safe distance and refrain from touching any appliance that they think dangerous. Immediately switch off the main switch, if you find any transmission fault at home and seek expert help for repairing.

Engen.
Did you know you need to have a master electrician on board to check, inspect and certify installations on the forecourt? All works are checked by accredited installers providing top service at benchmarked rates.

Specialised earthing systems are used when tankers off load petroleum. The flexible house needs to left on the floor for a minimum of 15 seconds to discharge any static electricity. Then the hoses needs to be connected and an earth clamp is mechanically fastened onto on earth spike to discharge any further static during the transfer process. No errors can be made when it comes to fuelling and re-furling of fossil fuels.