Share

JHB’s smart meter plan could ease load shedding

Cape Town – City Power has announced that it will implement the “time of use” tariff system to reduce pressure on the grid in Johannesburg and pass on savings to residential customers.

The utility said that the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) had granted City Power approval to implement a residential time of use tariff system.

However, the city would have to install smart meters first before implementing the system, set to start on July 1.

Former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga recently told Fin24 about the need for the country to move to a smart grid system, which would follows this concept.

Read: Ex-CEO sheds light on Eskom troubles

Moving onto a smart grid would allow the utility to price electricity at different rates during the day to encourage consumption during off peak hours in order to reduce the cost to supply and lessen the pressure on the national grid. The objective is to improve the continuity of supply and pass the savings on to consumers, according to City Power.

Changing your behaviour

This time-differentiated system, called the time of use tariff, was previously made available to large power users and will now also be available to residential users from July 1.

In terms of this regulated pricing strategy, City Power will charge for consumption of electricity at a low tariff during off-peak hours and at a regulated premium during peak periods.

The peak period falls on weekdays between 07:00 and 10:00 and 18:00 and 21:00.

Through the implementation of this system, City Power and the City of Johannesburg seek to safeguard security of supply by driving heavy use of power to off-peak periods.

Incentive to use power in off-peak periods

The off-peak price will be lower than what the current flat rates are, which will provide an incentive to consumers for using electricity during off peak periods when tariffs are lower.

City Power MD Sicelo Xulu said the introduction of the time of use tariff shows their commitment to help augment the security of supply and provide a means by which much-needed savings to consumers can be realised.

“City Power’s introduction of a time-based tariff system is informed by its commitment to provide services to its hard-pressed consumers by incentivising and rewarding them for changing their usage patterns, while at the same time ensuring security of supply by lessening the pressure on the grid.

“Load shedding is a fact of life that we have to contend with for the foreseeable future and we need to explore any conceivable solutions to ensure that we keep the lights on,” said Xulu.

Xulu says that the time of use tariff system is designed to help the customers to reap noticeable savings, provided they amend their usage patterns.

Heating water and cooking major burners of power

Xulu notes that the spike during peak times is largely caused by hot water consumption and cooking by residential customers between 17:30 and 20:30.

This was because electric water heating and electric cooking were major contributors to the evening peak demand for power.

“These evening demand peaks are very expensive for City Power to deal with and are often the cause of overloads and outages,” said Xulu.

“The high cost of servicing the demand for power during peak periods is ultimately passed on to the consumer, so any reduction during the peak period from 17:00 to 21:00 is of mutual benefit to the consumer, City Power and Eskom generation.”

Winter is coming

With the winter season around the corner, Xulu said the use of electric heaters during this season will add even more to the peak demand.

“As a distributor, this surge in demand causes local network overloads and outages and puts an unbearable strain on Eskom’s capacity to generate electricity, which often leads to load shedding,” said Xulu.

“The introduction of a residential time of use tariff will go a long way towards mitigating against this ever-present risk.”

Alternative ways to cook

Xulu encouraged consumers to consider alternative methods of heating water and cooking during peak periods, such as switching to gas cooking and fitting a timer on their geyser or supporting City Power’s ripple control installation programme.

This programme allows City Power to remotely and automatically switch off geysers during the peak periods to reduce consumption, instead of expecting consumers to do this manually each day.

“Better still, by going solar for water heating for example, consumers can make significant savings on electricity and this investment can be paid off from the savings generated,” said Xulu.

“At the same time, the electricity industry will see a permanent load reduction during the troublesome peak periods.”

Customers that migrate to the time of use tariff are also free to choose which appliances they will refrain from using during the peak period. If they rather use them during off-peak times, they will also benefit by reducing the daily cost of operating the appliances.

City Power must first roll out smart meters

Xulu said an extensive educational drive will be undertaken to educate consumers about the new system before it is implemented on July 1.

City Power has to complete the rollout of smart meters around Johannesburg before it could implement the new system.

Eskom is expected to increase its tariffs by more than 8% in the next four years in order to fund its infrastructure backlog.

“By opting for alternative energy solutions such as gas and solar and changing their usage patterns, consumers will be largely insulating themselves from the effects of these increases and the threat of load shedding,” said Xulu.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.92
+0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.88
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.38
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.1%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders