Smart meter load management pilot launched – here are the areas that will get it first.
In an attempt to reduce load-shedding and restore MW to the grid, ESKOM is about to roll out Smart Meters nationally, at a cost of at least R16bn, over the next four years.
Whilst this may sound like a good idea, it is not ideal to keep your home up and running. In addition, paying customers are the ones who will find themselves restricted whilst illegal connections will continue to erode the power needed to keep the country’s lights on.
Any one of the power solutions Ezsol offers will avoid you from being at the mercy of ESKOM.
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Weeks after City Power announced its load-limiting system, Eskom has announced the national rollout of its residential load management project, with a pilot in Johannesburg.
The smart meter can control power usage in the home. If you are using below the load-limit threshold, your electricity supply will remain. If you are above the threshold the smart meter will switch off high-energy appliances.
The power utility will kickoff the project with a pilot in Midrand and Sandton.
“Eskom will implement the residential load management project nationally, with the pilot starting in Midrand and Sandton for customers with smart meters.
“Residential load management is part of the demand side management initiative to adjust and optimise the electricity consumption of customers to better balance the supply and demand of electricity on the grid. This is aimed at reducing and shifting the electricity load during times of high demand (peak times) or supply constraints.”
It said the system will help keep the lights on without having to rely only on supplying new electricity to the grid.
Eskom urged customers to respond to the prompts that will be sent to their smart meter and adjust their energy consumption patterns.
The system will also reduce energy costs for customers.
The rollout to every household will take four years and cost at least R16bn. The utility hopes to recover more than 7,000MW for the grid through the project.
The City of Johannesburg’s power utility City Power last month said it was taking several steps to try to reduce load-shedding, including load-limiting through smart meters.
City Power’s executive for energy management Meyrick Ramatlo explained: “Instead of switching off the entire house [as Eskom’s load-shedding does], we would like to keep the minimum electricity use to your lights, television and WiFi.”
City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava said the R400m project would be fully functional before the end of December.
Credit Times Live 9th June 2023
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