Eskom Has a Plan to Reduce Loadshedding by Installing Smart Meters in Households, Mzansi Says It’s a Sham

• Eskom has a plan to end loadshedding by placing smart meters in households in the future
• The smart meters are described as a demand management system that will notify consumers about the "right" times to use electricity
• South Africans are livid about the new smart meters plan and believe that Eskom is just rebranding loadshedding

JOHANNESBURG - As South Africans grapple with a constantly changing loadshedding schedule, Eskom has a new plan to end rolling blackouts and put the power in consumers' hands.

However, if implemented, Eskom's new plan is not cheap and will cost taxpayers R16 billion.

Eskom chief engineer Edison Makwarela says the power utility has a practical solution to loadshedding that will involve implementing smart meters in households.

What are smart meters, and how do they work?

Read also

Capitec glitch leaves users with zero bank balance on payday, customers say, “It’s time to switch”

According to Eskom, smart meters will use a demand management system that allows customers to decide how much they are willing to pay for electricity based on their consumption time.

Smart meters will essentially notify customers when electricity will be the most expensive and less pricey. Consumers will then pay for electricity in accordance with those times, reports TimesLIVE.

"What we are saying is that if you consume electricity at a certain time, it becomes expensive, and if you consume it at a standard time, it becomes cheaper," said Makwarela.

Makwarela explained that smart meters would also be used to manage "load-limiting" as an alternative to loadshedding.

This means the power utility will give consumers a specific amount of electricity they can use. If they exceed that amount, electricity will be switched off for 30 minutes to two hours.

Read also

Johannesburg woman's loadshedding and water interruption woes speaks to South Africans, peeps weigh In

“If the excess load is not removed by a customer during the load-limiting stage, the meter will disconnect the customer for a period determined by the utility," explained Makwarela.

According to BusinessTech, major metros are already planning to implement smart meters in customers' homes. Johannesburg and Tshwane plan to update meters this year.

South Africans not excited about smart meters

@LandOfBlackOuts said:

"We have been down this road already 8 years ago it was just another sham that made the tender people richer Ask our new electricity minister all about it."

@MarumoMashigo said:

"nonsense, why limit me electricity usage that I buy, unless if these meters will not be tampered with for illegal connections."

@_whatzmyname said:

"So basically, your usage is government-controlled like a communist country?"

@mnt383 said:

"R16bn and this is the plan they have with that budget? I would laugh if it wasn't so tragic."

Read also

Young man builds his dream home with shipping containers, video inspires internet users

@MashaRostovv said:

"To say they are drunk is an understatement. TSEK with your expensive experiment. Who will get the tender? ANC comrades are very creative."

@Tahepo16 said:

"My personal concerns with this proposal is data privacy - our household's data will be transmitted to the supplier. That also means an opportunity for hacking where burglars would know when people are in the house or out due to their energy consumption."

@mathopho said:

"So, basically you gonna buy and they decide when you get use it? What rubbish is this?"

Mom copes with loadshedding by telling kid they are all in heaven in TikTok video

In other news, Briefly News previously reported that Eskom's loadshedding inspires this mom to become playful with her kids. The woman took advantage of the pitchback darkness during power cuts to convince them of the impossible.

People were in stitches as a kid fell for a prank. People could not get over the child's terror after hearing the news.

Read also

UK overhauls energy regulation after meter scandal

A woman @yung_silly_coon on TikTok filmed herself pretending that she and her child are in heaven. In the video, a kid was distraught when he thought they had died and went to heaven.

Source: Briefly News