As we strategy the 12 days of Christmas in the direction of the tip of December, we’ve got the collective alternative to replicate on the truth that we’ve solely had 12 days with no energy cuts this yr. The newest insights from EskomSePush point out that we spent 45 days in Stage 6 loadshedding and skilled 408 390 minutes with out electrical energy this yr – that’s 86% greater than another yr.
In line with the newest knowledge units from the Outlier, we will affirm that in 2023, South Africans had been compelled to endure the best diploma of load shedding on report thus far. In 2022, we noticed 205/12 months of load shedding – largely between phases 1 and 4.
Whereas evident, this pales compared to 2023, with each day blackouts throughout 329 days thus far, comprising largely stage 3 to six ranges of load shedding. Not solely does this point out a stunning 60% improve in energy cuts yr on yr, however the quantity of occasions the facility has gone off, every day, has nearly tripled.
With out fast motion, by way of the implementation of recent and good applied sciences, nothing goes to vary.
Within the third quarter of 2023 South Africa skilled an nearly across-the-board wipeout in actual GDP progress. Every quarter of this yr has seen our financial exercise lower by 0.2%, at double the anticipated 0.1% contraction.
These tragic outcomes may be attributed, partially, to the affect that load shedding has had on key drivers of financial progress in South Africa, specifically our agricultural sector. The newest knowledge from Stats SA additionally signifies that over 1 300 native firms needed to be liquidated between January – October 2023.
It’s mentioned that madness is doing the identical factor again and again and anticipating completely different outcomes. Our authorities can be well-advised to begin taking a much more progressive strategy to this disaster, or we are going to danger an additional shrinkage in our GDP.
Sensible geyser units already provide our beleaguered energy utility with a way to lower the load on Eskom. Primarily based on the information drawn from a current research of 6 809 good geyser units throughout South Africa, it was potential to verify that the typical geyser vitality utilization for six 346 geysers with a set-point temperature of 51–70°C was 0.492 kWh.
By modeling this knowledge in opposition to a research of 463 electrical geysers with a modified set-point temperature of fifty°C, we will affirm that the typical geyser vitality utilization was decrease, at 0.357 kWh.
This research illustrated a big diploma of financial savings (0.135 kWh) on geyser vitality utilization – achieved just by decreasing their set-point temperature to simply 50°C by way of the usage of a wise geyser system.
If one applies the saving of 0.135 kWh to greater than 7 million electrical geysers already in use throughout the nation, we may safe whole vitality financial savings of round 942,000 kWh – roughly equal to at least one stage of load shedding (1,000 MWh).
Our authorities should make the good alternative in 2024 to roll-out good geyser units to all 7 million electrical geysers in South Africa to lower the speed of loadshedding by one complete degree.
It’s markedly clear {that a} easy, good, technological answer may be leveraged conveniently to mitigate the rise in energy blackouts in our nation.
Our nationwide authorities ought to heed this name, and take a much more progressive strategy to addressing our nationwide vitality disaster, earlier than it continues to sever the financial progress of our nation.
By Mark Allewell, CEO Sensor Networks
