Loadshedding is not going away any time soon and Cape Town is trying to adapt as best it can. Professor Thinus Booysen of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University has recently been interviewed by The Money Show’s Bruce Whitfield. Professor Booysen explained that going off the grid is a luxury only a few people can afford, but what about metros such as Cape Town that wants to partially shield their residents and businesses from loadshedding?
Professor Booysen points out that the City of Cape Town has approximately 600 000 water heaters. If the City can reduce the load by 10%, it could result in no stage of loadshedding being implemented. Unfortunately, not all water heaters are controlled in a smart way – this needs remedying: going forward, if you buy a water heater it should have a smart controller. He also points out that for an endeavour of this kind, it is essential to onboard independent power producers since generation will be renewable and as such, slightly unreliable.
Listen to the complete interview with Professor Booysen below.
