City Power audits, and installs solar geysers in low-income households

City Power started auditing solar geysers on March 19.

The aim is to assess the working conditions of those installed in 2014. During this process, they will install new geysers in low-income households across all service delivery centres (SDC).

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said thousands of solar geysers were installed a decade ago to ease pressure on the grid. Over the years, some installed units have begun to malfunction, with others no longer operational.

This saw some customers revert to conventional high-energy geysers, burdening the already strained network.

To address this, the utility will assess those geysers to see how many function well out of those that were installed.

This work, which will include house-to-house visits for audit purposes, will be done by appointed agents.

These energy-efficient and environmentally friendly water heaters generate about 2.5kW per household and stop over 20 000 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Customers are advised to grant the agents access to their premises because the visits are not about switching off the power supply but for work related to solar geysers.

These individuals will wear yellow TID reflector vests and carry valid City Power ID cards. Their identities can be verified by calling the City Power Risk Control Department on 011 490 7900/11.

All relevant contact information will be on the reflector vests so customers can verify their identity on the spot.

This process will benefit customers by reducing their electricity costs, so it is in every customer’s best interest to grant the agents entry. They are urged to be vigilant and look for criminals who might come to their homes masquerading as City Power agents.