LETTER: Could daylight saving time save SA from the dark?

Ever since the Eskom load-shedding saga commenced in 2008, the chances were high that SA would eventually reach its present emergency stage, at which “every bit helps” to keep the lights on.

The latest expensive emergency steps now inevitably range from powerships to reliance on costly diesel generators and prolonging the lives of coal power stations.

SA has to explore all possible short-term options, so why not also throw a two- to three-year temporary daylight saving arrangement into the mix to help smooth peak demand?

The idea was mooted during Eskom’s original crisis in 2008. A proposal was then made in parliament to divide the country into two time zones to spread peak times of electricity usage. An Eskom study at the time did not think that there would be a significant effect on energy consumption, either in the reduction of peak demand or a reduction in base-load power, so the proposal was not pursued.

However, should this option not now also quickly again be interrogated in the light of the drastically changed circumstances and small safety margins now featuring on the energy front? The parameters may have shifted completely concerning what might be possible.

Compared to what rolling blackouts are now costing the SA economy and the dislocation they cause (and will continue to cause for the foreseeable future), is daylight savings not worth urgent renewed investigation?

SA successfully employed it during World War 2 — could it assist again?

Raymond Parsons
Via email

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