Programme Overview

Click here for  the Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management Programme Overview booklet

Accelerated Energy Efficiency Plan

The efficient use of electricity has become a national priority, a necessity for the future development of the South African economy and effective provision of electricity. Working towards these objectives is Eskom’s Accelerated Energy Efficiency Plan that focuses on reducing electricity demand by 3 000MW by 2012, and a further 5 000MW by 2025.

 

The plan

The 12 overarching elements of the energy efficiency strategy are to:

1. Set short, medium and long-term goals for energy efficiency that will support the country’s economic growth.

2. Create national awareness that electricity is a valuable commodity that has to be used widely.

3. Promote effective energy use through appropriate legislation aimed at:

• preventing the importation and use of inefficient equipment
• Setting energy efficiency requirements for buildings.
• Achieving energy efficiency across natural resources used for generating electricity.
• Establishing mechanisms for funding accelerated energy efficient projects.
• Providing funding for appropriate energy efficiency projects.

4. Ensure effective collaboration between Eskom and all role players in the sector including the National Energy Efficiency Agency, the Department of Minerals and Energy and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.

5. Accelerate the evaluation, approval and implementation of energy efficient projects.

6. Implement selected large efficiency projects.

7. Develop and implement “energy efficiency” tariffs applicable to end-users, including “time of use” tariffs for households. This enables householders to take advantages of tariffs that are lower at certain times of the day when demand for electricity across the network is lower. The usage cost is linked to Eskom production costs at that particular time. The tariff therefore reflects the generation cost.

8. Develop contingency projects to supplement the programme such as:

• Use of alternative energy sources for domestic heating and cooking.

9. Maintain savings achieved in the Western Cape during 2006, while implementing a focused roll out in KwaZulu Natal during 2007.

10. Position Eskom and government as leaders in the energy efficiency process by:

• Identifying, implementing and tracking projects that contribute towards an internal efficiency drive.
• Implementing employee programmes to ensure energy efficient work sites and employee homes.
• Committing to energy efficient improvements in government buildings.

11. Using the government ASGIS-SA objectives to achieve advances in the industrial arena that provide the best short term benefits.

12. Ensure that the energy efficiency programme within Eskom is efficiently managed.

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Achieving the plan’s objectives

Achieving the 12 point plan will require an initial short-term plan- extending over a five- year period to 2012, followed by the medium-to long-term focus that will run from 2012 to 2025.

The short- term objectives

In the short-term, the focus will be on projects in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

 

Improved efficiency in terms of technology

In the residential sector the focus will be on rolling out programmes for efficient lighting, solar water heating, installation of energy and water saving shower heads and geyser blankets, thereby reducing residential consumption of electricity.

In the commercial sector efforts will be concentrated on street lighting projects and the conversion of lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

In industry demand market participation contracts, process optimisation and the promotion of the use of energy efficient electrical motors will be of primary concern.

 

The medium to long-term objectives

Concentrating on the delivery of new technologies to assist with power delivery between 2012 and 2025, the objective will be on coordinating product development and ensuring that there is a flow of appropriate technologies available for identified market sectors. These will include:

The residential sector where applications for light emitting diode (led) lighting will be examined, and;

Micro generation, which allows consumers who are generating heat or electricity for their own needs, to supply surplus power into the power grid and using generators such as wind turbines that are not connected to the national grid.

In the commercial sector and the industrial sector the focus will be on led lighting.

In addition, sustainable activities will form a significant part of the focus on medium and long-term planning. These will involve a wide range of activities varying from research to replacement strategies for short-term life cycles and disposal strategies for hazardous or environmentally harmful equipment.

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