To quote from the press:
"ESKOM WARNS OF AN INCREASED POSSIBILITY OF LOAD SHEDDING TODAY
(Wednesday, 05 March 2008) The possibility of load shedding is high today as Eskom forecasts that the system will be constrained, especially during evening peak (18:00 to 21:00).
Eskom has not implemented load shedding since 4 February 2008. This has been largely due to the fact that key industrial customers have contributed to the alleviation of the constrained situation by reducing their demand for electricity by 10%. In addition, Eskom's generation plant performance and the coal supply situation had also improved.
"However, this is a problem that needs to be shared across all sectors of our society. We are appealing to all electricity consumers to contribute to save electricity and reduce their demand by 10%," says Erica Johnson, Eskom's Chief Officer Networks and Customer Service. "
Quite clearly, legal practices also need to ensure they remain powered when load shedding occurs. It was with this need in mind that Keep It On was established to provide a secure, effective and efficient range of Alternative Power Solutions.
Diesel generators have a number of problems such as:
- Installation of tunits large enough to power a legal office would require an enormous amount of space.
- They emit gas.
- They make a lot of noise.
- The cost of diesel is increasing.
- Maintenance is costly.
Keep It On has investigated the market to find the right kind of alternative power sources to keep firms powered during load shedding.
The needs of law firms
As a legal practice, timing is critical and being without power, even for short periods, can be debilitating and cause enormous losses to the practice. The ability to communicate with your client and to receive important communication is now largely effected through electronic mechanisms.
In a conveyancing practice, for example, the following situations vividly illustrate the importance of keeping the electricity flowing:
- Attorneys on bank panels require communication electronically for receipt of instructions and updating of information. Without power, you cannot receive instructions and even worse, you cannot notify the bank when loans or cancellations have been registered, placing both yourselves and the bank at risk of interest claims on late settlement;
- Payment for Rates Clearance are now managed electronically;
- Deeds Office searches require access to the internet;
- Clients attending the offices waiting for documents are inconvenienced;
- Accounts cannot be produced;
The first step to safeguarding your firm from suffering power outages is to know how much electricity you will need to continue running only essential equipment or all equipment until the power returns. With this in mind, Keep It On has a nifty "Power Calculator" to establish your requirements.
The site is really useful and provides information such as:
- Updated information relevant to the load shedding problems and other issues that will affect us;
- Access to the load monitor directly from the site; and
- A simple method of ordering the power supplies.
Keep It On
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