1 Brian Dames, Chief Executive Officer, Eskom Launch of 49M ...

Brian Dames, Chief Executive Officer, Eskom
Launch of 49M
Turbine Hall
Friday 18 th March 2011
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Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, Deputy President
Mr Dipuo Peters Minister of Department of Energy
Mr Benedict Martins Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises
Ms Babara Thompson Deputy Minister of Energy
Mr Peter Maluleke Chairman of the Portfolio Committee of Public Enterprises
Mr Sisa Njelkelana Chairman of the Portfolio Committee of Energy
Mrs Pricilla Themba Chairman of the Select Committee of Labour and Public
Enterprises (NCOP)
Chief Executive of Eskom, Mr Brian Dames
Ms Neli Magubane Director General of Energy
Mr Herbert Mkhize Executive Director of Nedlac and Convenor of the National
Stakeholder Advisory Council on Energy
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Chief Executives
Members of the media
Eskom management and staff
Esteemed guests
The material for the campaign that we are launching today is light and bright. We have
yellow stickers that say: “You turn me on: now turn me off”. We have golden shoelaces that
say “Remember your power”. We want people to lift a finger -- to switch it off if it‟s not in use.
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The campaign is intended to amuse and to engage people. We hope it will catch on, and that
as 49 million South Africans we can start not just to talk about energy efficiency, but to make
it a habit. We want to empower people to do that. The campaign urges all of us: “Remember
your power”, and the idea is that if we all work together as South Africans, we can make a
difference.
But we have to do things differently. And though the campaign material is bright and
entertaining, these are serious challenges we face as a country, challenges we can address
only if we work together.
Those challenges can be summed up in three “P”s – to save power, to save the planet and
to save our pockets.
We need first to save Power. We have said the power system is going to be tight over the
next two years, before the first unit of Medupi comes on line late in 2012. We are working as
hard as we can at Eskom to keep the lights on, but we can‟t do it alone. We will need to work
together as a country to ensure our lights stay on. But this is not a campaign just for the next
two years, or even the next five years. The plan is that it will run for five years, adapting over
time. And if we succeed with this 49 M campaign, the effects should be lasting. The culture
of using electricity wisely must stay with us even once we do have new power stations, even
when the system is no longer tight.
That brings us to the second P – the need to save our Planet. In 40 years from now, there
will be about 30% more people living on this planet. It‟s estimated that if we were simply to
carry on doing business as usual, we would need 2,3 planets worth of resources by 2050 to
maintain the lifestyle we have now. But we have only this one planet. So if we want to
sustain our lifestyles and also pull millions of people out of poverty, one of the things we
have to do is to live in much more energy-efficient ways. That applies to us particularly in
South Africa, which is unusually inefficient when it comes to electricity usage. One reason is
that historically, the electricity price was too low, for too long, and that encouraged wasteful
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habits. There was little incentive to do more, with less electricity. Now, however, electricity
prices are rising as we move towards cost-reflective tariffs – that is, tariffs that reflect the real
cost of producing electricity and make it attractive to invest in the new capacity that we need
if we are to keep the lights on for all South Africans. It is important for our economic
development that tariffs do catch up to cost reflective levels. And there are mechanisms in
place to protect the most vulnerable households from the full impact of the tariff increases.
But there is no doubt that that rapid tariff catch-up puts strain on finances. So this is the third
„P”: Lifting that finger can help to save our Pockets.
In the end, of course, it is not electricity for its own sake that we want, but electricity to
support higher rates of economic growth, so that we can improve the quality of life of all the
people of South Africa and of the region. And that includes extending access to electricity to
the more than two million households who still do not have it.
This campaign is all about working together and we are delighted at the partnerships that
have been formed. Honourable Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, Honourable Deputy
Minister of Energy, Barbara Thompson, and Honourable Deputy Minister of Public
Enterprises, Benedict Martins, it has been a privilege to share the podium with you. Thank
you for taking the lead and calling on all South Africans to lessen our impact on the power
system and lessen our imprint on the environment.
Mr Herbert Mkhize and our other supporters – the South African Chamber of Commerce,
Nedlac, and the Technology Association of South Africa [other partners to be confirmed as
per Friday‟s meeting with customers] – thank you for your commitment and support. It is
through cross-industry partnerships such as this that 49M can gain momentum and success.
To my fellow South Africans – business and consumers: thank you for your personal
contributions, whether it be switching off a light that is not in use, installing a solar water
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geyser, or consciously saving 10% on your electricity consumption. Together we can
achieve more.
Mr Mpho Makwana, our Chairman, thank you for your leadership, guidance, and strength.
To my 40 000 Eskom colleagues: thank you for your dedication, and your commitment as
guardians of Eskom and energy efficiency.
Finally, to all of those who made this event possible: thank you for your creativity, drive, and
effort.
We are 49 Million Citizens and counting.
Together we have the power to make a difference.
Remember your Power!
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