(South Africa) All power plants under capacity (mines closed for 4th day)

[phantom power]

Durban - Not a single one of Eskom's coal-fired power stations, which should supply 90 percent of the country's electricity, is operating at full capacity.

Difficulties in coal supply, technical problems or planned maintenance have wiped out a quarter of the utility's capacity.

Yesterday 9 745 megawatts of Eskom's net maximum capacity of 37 761MW was out of commission. On Friday 8 788MW was unavailable.

Despite this Eskom said it did not shed any load yesterday because 138 big industrial customers had "voluntarily" cut consumption to stabilise the system. This meant many mines were closed for a fourth day.

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4227940

[hunter]

1. This illustrates the fragility of any high technology society.

It would be good news if this was merely a California Energy Crisis kind of scam, although I suppose that sort of political corruption illustrated a different sort of economic fragility.

[phantom power]

2. both about inelastic demand for energy.

demand destruction is neither voluntary, nor smooth. The networked failures are cascading, and the cascades adhere to a power-law distribution.

[AlecBGreen]

3. IIRC

Germany shut the door on its nuclear industry and planned to open new coal-fired plants which would be supplied with South African coal. Doesnt seem like such a good idea any more, eh?

[GliderGuider]

4. Does anyone know of a list of countries facing energy problems?

I thought someone on TOD was maintaining one, but I can't find out where.

Last I remember there were about 45 countries experiencing fuel or electricity shortages.

[GliderGuider]

5. I did a quick Google News search and found 45 countries with energy problems

I found the following countries with either fuel of electricity shortages (sometimes both):

Albania
Angola
Argentina
Bangladesh
Benin
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cameroon
Chile Natural
China
Costa Rica
Dagestan
Dominican Republic
Ethiopia
Gambia
Ghana
Haiti
India
Iran
Iraq
Kenya
Liberia
Malawi
Namibia
Nepal
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
North Korea
Pakistan
Philipines
Rwanda
Senegal
Somalia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Swaziland
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Uzbekistan
Viet Nam
Zambia
Zimbabwe

There are probably a bunch that I haven't found yet.

A quarter of the world's nations have energy shortages, including some of the most populous and the ones where population is growing fastest.

[NNadir]

6. Hold on for just a little while longer and you will be able to look under your feet.

I would say definitively that the "United States" is facing "energy" problems.

In 2005, derailments on the Powder River Basin lines in Wyoming caused huge delays in coal deliveries throughout the American Midwest. Bismark, North Dakota's power co-op was down to a three day supply, and Arkansas Power Co-op's started importing coal from Asia.

Now, unlike fundie anti-nukes, I favor the phase out of coal, the faster the better. My preferred form of energy production, nuclear energy, utilizes plants that can go well over two years without being refueled.

[GliderGuider]

7. Things will be OK under my feet for a while longer

Canada has plenty of hydro, some nuclear and a lot of strange black goop that people are going nuts over.

As the net oil export crisis bites over the next 15 years I wouldn't want to be living is the USA, though.

[phantom power]

8. Don't forget we're going to annex you.

Hoser.

[NNadir]

9. I didn't realize you were Canadian.

Interestly enough, Ontario is the only governmental entity on the entire planet - to my knowledge - to have actively announced a coal phase out, unless you count the boys and girls over in California who keep playing three card monty with transmission lines.

Regrettably, Ontario's coal phase out isn't going well last I looked, but at least they chose the correct form of energy to phase out.