Experts suggest consumers must consider alternative power sources

As load shedding becomes a part of everyday life, experts suggest consumers must consider alternative power sources.

Energy expert Clyde Mallinson said South Africa needed sustainable power solutions at a national level.

“Those who can afford their own solar power and storage have probably already done so. Most people cannot even afford food, let alone electricity, so [photovoltaic, or solar power] on their rooftops is only an option for lighting, cellphone charging and the like, not for running appliances,” he said.

The DA shadow minister of mineral resources and energy Kevin Mileham said South Africa should be prioritising connecting new generational capacity online as quickly as possible.

“That means sourcing every single megawatt we can from independent power producers. Eskom admitted earlier this week it didn’t have the financial capacity or personnel to invest or build a new generation. So we will have to be dependent on independent power producers for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Mileham said SA should be pursuing what it could to bring online the quickest and cheapest.

“This is typically wind and solar power. Obviously, when you bring in the wind and solar power, you need to back that up with battery and pump storage mechanisms to support the demand,” he said.

He said it should be remembered that wind and solar were typically generated during the daytime, while the demand for energy peaked at night.

“That was why you needed storage to compensate for the peak,” he added.

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Mileham said the government should incentivise and make it easier for businesses and households to invest in their own solar generation.

“We need to make it easier for them to get panels on their roofs and feed back into the municipal girds,” he added.

Mileham said the minister of mineral resources and energy should also throw out the integrated resource plan of 2019.

“It’s an outdated document. They should rather invest in new planning and take into account the diminishing of energy available at Eskom.

“We need to invest in generational capacity now, not 15 years later,” he said.

Advocate for African Women and Youth in Africa’s Power and Energy sector Bertha Dlamini said consumers faced supply constraints for at least the next two to three years.

“While we expect Eskom to be diligent in its operations management and sustain the security of supply, it is prudent to anticipate that both Eskom and municipal electricity utilities will face constraints,” she said.

Dlamini said some banks have already created credit solutions for home solar systems.

“Domestic customers and large power users must explore affordable alternatives,” she said.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za