Minister of minerals and energy Buyelwa Sonjica yesterday announced details of a national response plan, as it applies to electricity demand-side management.
Rationing is already being implemented among large users of Eskom electricity, who will be rationed by 10% below their baseline usage for 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2007. Such rationing may be extended in future to residential, commercial and light industrial customers of both Eskom and the 280 municipalities it serves, and technology is currently being piloted to make this possible.
The pilot has shown the existence of a time-of-use signal alone is insufficient to prompt energy saving, and it has to be coupled with load-shifting technology.
Ivo Vegter, ITWeb contributor
The response plan is split into three "intervention timeframes". The first is intended to have a short-term impact, over the next six months. A further set of measures is designed to have an 18-month impact, and long-term measures are also being considered.
Tariff hikes are being considered, to remedy the fact that "we have been very lax in the use of electricity because it has been cheap", said Sonjica, although when asked whether these would exceed the 14.5% hike already announced, she said, "not yet".
According to the minister, no assessment has been made concerning the cost of electricity-saving measures to industry, commercial businesses and residential property owners, "but we do have a Demand-side Management Fund," which will, for example, be used to subsidise solar water heaters by between 20% and 30%, and will be funded by tariff increases.
Large users will face penalties for failing to meet their 10% energy saving target, following the model followed by Brazil during an electricity crisis in 2001, caused by serious droughts that affected its largely hydro-power generation capacity. Details on penalties are, however, subject to individual contracts with Eskom.
In addition, the department is planning to supply a million subsidised solar water heaters in the next three years, as well as solar panels, which will be priced to suit low income groups. Water heating accounts for a third of all residential power usage.
Smart metering
No mandatory steps would be taken to curb electricity usage of smaller business and residential usage, because metering is less sophisticated for those customers. In most cases, a municipal supplier exists between Eskom and the end-user.
Andrew Etzinger, head of demand-side management at Eskom, says pilots are under way to implement "smart metering"; however, and based on draft legislation proposed by the department of minerals and energy, he expects this to become a legislative requirement in future.
"Eskom has done a pilot on a time-of-use tariff, called home-flex, using smart meters. We`re in the process of seeking approval for rolling out the smart meters and two-part tariff to Eskom`s 120 000 directly-supplied residential customers. We expect that to take two years, because it`s not just about the meters, but billing systems and other technologies are also needed," he says.
The pilot has shown that the existence of a time-of-use signal alone is insufficient to prompt energy saving, and it has to be coupled with load-shifting technology, such as geyser and swimming pool pump switches that respond to a remote signal known as a "ripple control".
Similar technology to put load-management devices into commercial and light industrial properties is being piloted in the Nelson Mandela metro, based on the same ripple control signals that already exist for residential use.
The intention of the pilots is to gather data and experience to supply to the 280 municipalities that on-sell Eskom electricity. "We`d foresee that as soon as a municipality indicates they want to go ahead, we`ll be ready to work with them," says Etzinger. "Some will be risk-averse, and others will be early adopters. Some are already calling us."
Smaller, better, cheaper
Although tenders have not yet been issued, and contracts have not yet been awarded, a master-centre has been designed, and Etzinger says the crucial thing is to get this up and running. Eskom`s investment committee has to give final approval before the projects can be launched.
Key in the design, he says, has been to avoid the vendor lock-in of proprietary systems, which is common elsewhere in the world, and create an open, multi-vendor architecture that would permit improvement over time.
The smart meters and technology currently cost about R2 000 per home. This is an indicative cost, Etzinger emphasises, and there has been some indication from international suppliers that lower-cost technology may be available. "Things are getting smaller, better and cheaper," he says.
"Smart metering would greatly assist a rationing system," he says, referring to the possibility of rationing residential, commercial and light industrial users. Should such a measure be implemented, he is careful to stress that "current consumption would be an important measure, but we don`t want consumers to boost their usage to establish a higher baseline".
As with large users, future rationing for smaller users would be based on consumption patterns from 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2007, but Etzinger says the utility is working on various options to factor in historical energy-efficiency measures, to avoid penalising customers who have made efforts to save electricity in the past.
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