Bay Council approves load shedding mitigation strategy to curb economic meltdown
Published: April 04, 2023<< BACK TO NEWS
The Council of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality approved a plan to address the rolling blackouts affecting the local economy in the short, medium and long term, yesterday.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Electricity and Energy
said: "This is in response to the municipality’s dwindling revenue collection
from the sale of electricity as well as the pertinent need to soften the
crippling impact of load shedding on the local economy.
"One of the short-term goals is to explore the electricity
load curtailment of qualifying customers.
"In the medium term, we foresee the improvement of the
electricity saving capacity of the 84 000 geysers, remotely controlled with
ripple control switches, by ensuring better compliance by those consumers
currently bypassing the system. If implemented correctly, 50 mW can be switched
off remotely when required.
"Another low hanging fruit in the medium term is the
refurbishment of the gas turbine (a ModPod 50) at Mount Road with an installed
capacity of 50 mW that will operate at around 40 mW (which is equivalent to two
stages of load shedding). A service provider will be appointed to assess the
facility and to provide a report on what is required to get it operational.
"In addition, a pilot project to curtail the electricity
load of existing consumers, with the requisite smart technology already
installed at their premises, will be implemented to reduce their electricity
usage without completely switching off their electricity supply,” MMC Grootboom
said.
Long term plans include greater independence from the power
utility, Eskom, by promoting and championing the implementation of sustainable
renewal energy and to procure energy from independent power producers.
Ends
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