South Africa trails Western Europe and the United States when it comes to energy consciousness and the importance of saving power, the National Energy Efficiency Agency said on Thursday.
The agency’s acting general operations manager, Barry Bredenkamp, said in a statement that this attitude should change.
”We want to develop South Africans into energy conservers by nature.
”Not only will it help protect our environment, it will help people save money on their utility bills too,” he said.
He said to capitalise on public awareness and interest, a national television advertising campaign was launched on June 1 to create an educated public. It would run until the end of August.
He said that currently, during peak electricity demand periods, the ”Power Alert” running on TV was proving a success, reflecting a public willingness to save power.
”When the alert turns red, people are responding by turning off non-essential appliances, causing a significant dip in demand,” he said.
”This is very encouraging, as it shows South Africans are willing to do their part to save energy. I believe an excellent opportunity exists to change people’s attitude to energy consumption”.
The agency began its operations in April 2006 and is a division of the Central Energy Fund. — Sapa