Government buildings, starting with the Union Buildings in Pretoria and Parliament in Cape Town, are to be made more energy-efficient.
Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka received a cheque for R20-million from electricity utility Eskom in Pretoria on Tuesday to be used for the project, described as ”greening” government buildings.
”All government-owned facilities will, in time, be upgraded with various energy-efficient technologies,” Eskom chief executive Thulani Gcabashe said in a speech prepared for delivery.
The lighting systems of the buildings of the Department of Minerals and Energy and the National Electricity Regulator had already been made more energy-efficient, he said.
”This has resulted in a net saving to government on its electricity bill of approximately R1.5-million per annum.”
Part of the Eskom donation would be used to finance a full ”energy audit” inside the Union Buildings. Energy-efficient lighting had already been installed in the gardens and at the perimeter fences, Gcabashe said.
”All the standard less efficient incandescent lamps inside the building will be replaced with compact fluorescent lamps over the next few weeks.”
Such a change would have an immediate impact on the electricity bill, he said.
Tuesday’s function was part of the national Energy Efficiency Week.
Eskom announced recently that, based on the average 2,5% annual increase in demand, its current capacity to deal with peak demand would be exhausted by 2007.
The promotion of energy efficiency was one of the ways Eskom intended to deal with the situation, Gcabashe said.
”We are also exploring clean energy and renewables, and, finally, we have to invest in new generation capacity…
”Of course we have plans to bring back to service power stations that are currently mothballed and also to construct new peaking capacity (so) that our customers are not affected.”
Energy efficiency had many advantages, of which cost saving was probably the most appealing, he said.
”The more energy we use, the more energy needs to be generated. The result is that more power stations need to be built which will inevitably result in the consumer having to bear the cost.” – Sapa