Gathering steam

South Africa could be heading towards a crisis that will see the country being unable to meet its energy needs by 2007.

Frequent power cuts at peak times may become the norm unless we develop alternative and efficient energy sources, according to Mark Tanton, assistant project manager for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Power shortages may result in the cost of electricity increasing drastically and becoming unaffordable for many South Africans.

A bilateral agreement between the German and South African governments — funded by the UNDP — aims to address these problems with the development of renewable and alternative energy projects. The South African Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is working with the German government’s technical arm, the German Cooperation Agency (GTZ), to develop alternative energy sources.

Lessons can be learned from countries like Germany, which, thanks to Green Party policy, is leading the way in the use of alternative energy.

“German citizens are subsidised to put solar panels up on their houses. Some are generating so much electricity from solar power that they have an excess, which they sell back to the national grid. Instead of getting an electricity bill, they are getting a refund,” says Crosby Menzies of the Johannesburg-based Rapid Dawn Solar Energy Agency.

“People come to the EDC with their ideas for projects — it may be setting up a wind farm or a solar cooking company — and then the EDC will invest money in the business. We act like a department of trade and industry — but purely for energy,” says Tanton.

The first radical energy-saving cooking appliance to be launched out of this project is the Vesto stove, which is being manufactured, distributed and marketed by New Dawn Energy Systems with funding from the EDC.

The Vesto stove was originally developed in 1998 by GTZ project manager David Hancock in Zimbabwe. Hancock then passed the design on to an entrepreneur in Swaziland who developed the Vesto prototype.

The stove recently won the Design Institute of South Africa’s Chairperson’s Award for design excellence.

It is estimated that people in the lowest income groups (an average of R1 300 a household) spend as much as between 15% and 20% of their monthly income on fuel for cooking food. Most South Africans do not use electricity for cooking, preferring cheaper options such as wood, paraffin or coal.

“Paraffin gives off terrible fumes that are extremely unhealthy — as does the coal that people use called imbawula or brazier. The smoke you see hanging over the townships is caused by the imbawula and causes numerous respiratory diseases,” says Rina King, owner of New Dawn.

The indoor pollution caused by these cooking methods can result in diseases such as pneumonia, acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive lung disease. The Vesto reduces the risk of pollution. King says the way the Vesto heats and burns the fuel results in low smoke production.

For most South Africans, the benefit of owning a Vesto is the money saved on buying wood and charcoal.

“The Vesto uses three times less wood and you get a fire in less than a minute,” says King.

Cooking with a Vesto is also safer — a vital consideration for people living in informal settlements, where fires can spread quickly and destroy numerous homes owing to the density of the settlement. The fire is contained within a gas-insulated tin. If the stove is knocked over, the fire cannot escape the container because the maximum fuel line is lower than half the fire-box height.

The South African Demographic and Health Survey, conducted by the Department of Health in 1998, showed that the rates of infant mortality in households that used wood, coal or dung as a cooking fuel were almost double that of households using electricity.

In the latter, there were 27,4 infant deaths for every 1 000 households, while in those using wood, coal or dung the number of deaths was 62,7. In households that used paraffin, the number of deaths was 37,9.

Research conducted by the EDC has found that 88% of this target market has an electricity supply but, owing to the cost, it does not use its supply for power-cooking appliances. Only 34% own electric stoves, while 90% own a radio and 69% own TVs.

Consumers who have made the switch to the energy-saving stove seem satisfied. “I can cook with it easily and it warms the house without producing too much smoke,” said Judith Makhanya, an unemployed woman from Katlehong.

The Vesto is on sale at outlets across the country, but sales are slow. Isaac Senakgomo, a shop owner in Tokoza, says he received his first supply of five stoves in mid-June but he has only managed to sell two. “The interest is there but the price is a huge problem for many potential customers.”

With nearly 50% of South Africans living below the poverty line, owning a Vesto is a luxury most cannot afford. The stoves are sold to retailers for R230 and are then marked up to R299 for sale to the public.

“I have three customers who are purchasing their stoves via lay-by as they can’t afford R299 in one go. It takes a long time for them to pay it all off,” said Senakgomo.

King says the focus now is to reduce the retail price of the Vesto. “We are trying to reduce manufacturing costs by making use of press tooling instead of cutting components by laser.”

To date, approximately 900 Vestos have been sold in South Africa and the stove is also exported to Namibia, Holland, Tanzania and Angola.

The EDC is currently looking at investing in a new factory in Mpumalanga next year for New Dawn, as the company is presently battling to keep up with export demands. The factory would employ 15 new staff members and produce between 1 000 and 10 000 new Vesto stoves a month.

SA electricity facts and figures