Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramakgopa. (Theana Breugem/Foto24/Gallo Images)
Eskom has revived its plan to help reduce the demand for electricity by rolling out smart meters, which has been met with mixed response.
The power utility first introduced the demand-side management initiative in 2012. The initiative was revived last month at the utility’s demand-side management launch where the utility said smart meters will help it save electricity during off-peak periods.
The utility wants to roll out smart meters to households at a cost of R16 billion.
If the smart meter detects a consumer is using too much electricity, Eskom can switch off heavy-duty appliances such as stoves and geysers — and it can go further and switch off the whole house if usage doesn’t decrease.
This means the main targets are households that consume a lot of electricity.
The allocation is based on a household’s average usage and if this is exceeded the “switch off” kicks in.
Edison Makwarela, Eskom’s chief engineer, told the Mail & Guardian that smart meters will enable the power utility to remotely monitor energy use and detect problems such as power outages or faults in the system, which could then be addressed more quickly and efficiently.
“In addition, the data collected from smart meters can help Eskom better manage the electricity grid and optimise energy distribution.”
He added that smart meters improve billing accuracy through automated reading, revenue protection and low voltage network monitoring.
After the failed implementation of the City of Tshwane smart meter project in 2012, which resulted in a court order putting the contract on hold, experts have warned that a similar project should be adopted with caution. They also warned of corruption at Eskom.
Calvin Rafadi, a forensic investigator at private security firm Bizz Tracers, said that although Eskom’s intentions to save energy are good, the utility fell short in the implementation of its plans “which led to losing funds”.
He added that corruption would see the project fail because there are not enough checks and balances in place.
“The utility should focus on addressing the ghost vending machine [the illegal sales and purchases of electricity] problem which made it lose money before addressing smart meters. Solve the corruption, then projects can work. Before that, it will become a fruitless expenditure,” he said.
Energy expert Tshepo Kgadima said the smart meter plan is long overdue and should have been implemented to correct the accuracy of electricity billing and not as an energy saving plan.
But he said the concept is faulty because the utility’s main source of energy comes from coal-fired power plants that do not have the flexibility to ramp power up and down, whereas a gas turbine would give it the flexibility it needs.
“So therefore, it’s going to be just a fruitless and wasteful expenditure exercise. What Eskom needed to have been doing is to install the smart metering for accuracy of billing, because right now, [for] the majority of the people in this country, the bill that they get is guesswork.”
He said it is concerning that the utility is proposing to purchase the system at the cost of R16 billion, instead of manufacturing or acquiring a company to manufacture it.
“This will ensure that once they have completed their installation in South Africa, they could then use that expertise, that knowledge, that capacity to then export … current systems into the rest of the continent, which is still by and large a dark continent,” he added.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was the mayor of Tshwane when a smart meter contract with Peu Capital was terminated.
“The termination decision was largely based on the negative financial and economic impact of the project on the city,” Ramokgopa said at the time.
The project began in 2013 but by 2015 the city had paid Peu Capital R830 million for 6 572 meters for large electricity users and 6 348 for small users such as household.
This put the city’s finances in a negative, resulting in it owing the South African Receiver of Revenue (Sars)more than R91 million a month.
City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink says the city is in a dire financial position.
“In the past year, we have learnt that we owe Sars VAT and penalties on this unlawful contract for the period from 2012 to 2015. The full extent of this liability is [about] R4.7 billion, and most are in the form of penalties.”
Eskom’s group executive of distribution, Monde Bala, said using smart meters is a key enabler to demand-side management in that the power utility and municipalities can do load management and load-shifting, which will reduce pressure on the grid during peak times.
Energy expert Lungi Mashele said smart energy efficiency and demand side management are integral in managing demand and avoiding or reducing load-shedding.
“The smart meters have a role to play in reducing demand. Remotely switching off electric geysers through smart meters can save us up to four stages of load-shedding.”
Mandisa Nyathi is a climate reporting fellow, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa