Eskom urges South Africans to conserve electricity
Eskom urges South Africans to conserve electricity
“South Africans have developed a lifestyle of using electricity without much consideration due to excess capacity in the past. This situation is fast changing as the demand for electricity increases every year. We want to change that lifestyle,” said Tsholo Matlala, Eskom Energy Services Manager.
“The campaign to conserve electricity is a long-term one, but with an intense short-term focus this winter, especially in the Western Cape.”
Why should we save electricity?
The campaign encourages consumers to use electricity wisely, installing energy-efficient appliances that lower consumption and switching to gas for domestic cooking and heating.
At the moment the incentive to use energy efficiently is largely financial, as lower demand means lower electricity bills. However, in the next few years differential tariffs may become necessary, charging a premium at peak periods and giving consumers a bigger incentive to use electricity in cheaper off-peak periods.
The peak periods for electricity demand are from 06:30 to 10:00 in the morning and 17:00 to 21:00 in the evening. As these peaks are largely caused by domestic consumption, demand side management has a separate focus on household electricity use, particularly at peak times.
In addition to showing residents how they can lower consumption and thus spend less on electricity, Eskom has over a period subsidised the price of energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Each of these lamps will save the consumer about R1,50 per month compared to a traditional incandescent bulb, and they last six to eight times longer.
Additional incentives are being offered in the Western Cape. Eskom is distributing 5 million CFLs free of charge to help bring about an immediate reduction in demand, and has teams advising households on ways to cut consumption. It also supports energy-saving equipment such as free geyser blankets projects, and the use of subsidised gas appliances for cooking and heating.
Western Cape businesses with their own generators are also being encouraged to use them, particularly at peak periods, to reduce the amount of power drawn from the grid over the next few months as part of the self-generation programme.
But, when Koeberg’s two generating units are both fully operational again, scheduled for the end of July this year, the long-term electricity savings campaign will continue.
“We know it will take time to change people’s lifestyles, but it needs to be done. Because the cost of electricity has been affordable in South Africa compared to most European countries, people are inclined to switch on needlessly, and so use electricity wastefully.
“This results in unnecessarily high demand, particularly at peak periods. Through the DSM campaign we aim to change those habits, to appreciate the financial and environmental benefits of saving electricity, and to think before they use a precious resource,” said Matlala.
At the moment the incentive to use energy efficiently is largely financial, as lower demand means lower electricity bills. However, in the next few years differential tariffs may become necessary, charging a premium at peak periods and giving consumers a bigger incentive to use electricity in cheaper off-peak periods.
The peak periods for electricity demand are from 06:30 to 10:00 in the morning and 17:00 to 21:00 in the evening. As these peaks are largely caused by domestic consumption, demand side management has a separate focus on household electricity use, particularly at peak times.
In addition to showing residents how they can lower consumption and thus spend less on electricity, Eskom has over a period subsidised the price of energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Each of these lamps will save the consumer about R1,50 per month compared to a traditional incandescent bulb, and they last six to eight times longer.
Additional incentives are being offered in the Western Cape. Eskom is distributing 5 million CFLs free of charge to help bring about an immediate reduction in demand, and has teams advising households on ways to cut consumption. It also supports energy-saving equipment such as free geyser blankets projects, and the use of subsidised gas appliances for cooking and heating.
Western Cape businesses with their own generators are also being encouraged to use them, particularly at peak periods, to reduce the amount of power drawn from the grid over the next few months as part of the self-generation programme.
But, when Koeberg’s two generating units are both fully operational again, scheduled for the end of July this year, the long-term electricity savings campaign will continue.
“We know it will take time to change people’s lifestyles, but it needs to be done. Because the cost of electricity has been affordable in South Africa compared to most European countries, people are inclined to switch on needlessly, and so use electricity wastefully.
“This results in unnecessarily high demand, particularly at peak periods. Through the DSM campaign we aim to change those habits, to appreciate the financial and environmental benefits of saving electricity, and to think before they use a precious resource,” said Matlala.
