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Comment
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W
hat a year this was! I trust it treated you, your family
and your company as well as could be expected. We
probably need to speak more sternly to the incoming
year wouldn’t you think?
It is not always to find the time to reflect on the year just passed
- and certainly there are many who argue that this can be akin to
driving while looking in the rear view mirror. But that misses the
point! You are supposed to be safely ensconced in a picnic area,
relaxing, clearing your head - and then looking into the rear view
mirror to see what lessons may have been learned.
I find it hard to think clearly while faced with the continuous grind
of our everyday existence - so one needs to find that time to get
the background noise out of your head - and really think.
But I can assure you that knowing the road you have travelled,
really thinking about it and looking carefully at it, can tell you a
lot not just about the road ahead, but how best to traverse it.
This time for reflection is important to us in our personal capacity,
but also to our organisation and indeed the nation as a whole.
At the core of any growing economy must be a reliable supplier
of energy. In my book, that is electricity and in this final edition
of Electricity+Control for 2013, we include a brief overview
of Eskom’s road over the past 90 years. It is, without doubt,
worthwhile reading. When reading through the document, what
really struck me was how many times South Africa and Eskom
have had to deal with really tough situations.
The path out of the various holes that were dug (by governments,
employees, citizens, political imperatives) were never simple and
were never purely technical - but were always fed by a need to
improve the energy supply situation of the nation (as variously
perceived) and the expectations of industry and society at large.
My sense is that we tend to forget all too quickly how many real
strides we have made over the past while.
Of course we have problems - and of course I join you in throwing
up my hands in despair over many things - but read this document
and remind yourself of the remarkable achievements that have
been made: this is not the country it was in 1923, nor 1939,
1948, 1963, 1976 or even 1994 - this is a vibrant and remarkable
new country.
It has all the problems of any new country - but most of all, it
has potential.
It is appropriate to end this year, therefore, with a special request
to everyone - you, me, industry, government, and civil society
- to do everything in our power to make it possible to realise
that potential.
That said, I am so proud to be here. I sincerely hope that you,
too, feel the same.
Ian Jandrell
Ian Jandrell
Pr Eng,
BSc (Eng) GDE PhD,
FSAIEE SMIEEE
We wish everyone a happy,
restful and safe festive season.
From The Electricity+Control team
1
December ‘13
Electricity+Control
