Nelson Mandela Bay Pioneers Load-Curtailment Project, Keeping Lights On for Some Residents During Loadshedding

• Some Nelson Mandela Bay residents are in for a treat with the rollout of a new load-curtailment project
• The installation of smart meters in several Gqeberha households will provide limited electricity during loadshedding
• Nelson Mandela Bay is the first municipality to roll out Eskom's pilot project, which was launched on Monday, 4 September

GQEBERHA - Nelson Mandela Bay is lightyears ahead of all other South African municipalities in its efforts to keep loadshedding at bay.

Some lucky residents have become the test subjects of a new project that will keep lights, Wi-Fi and even TVs on during rolling blackouts.

New load reduction project rolled out

The municipality was the first to roll out Eskom's pilot load-curtailment project on Monday, 4 September, SABC News reported.

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Smart electricity meters have been installed in 125 Gqeberha households, allowing residents to use a certain amount of electricity during loadshedding.

The project, which will run for the next three months, is also being tested in Gauteng.

Nelson Mandela Bay warns residents about abusing electricity

The project does not come without its limits, though, as with great power comes great responsibility.

Residents who abuse the smart meters and use too much electricity will be cut off immediately and experience total blackouts for the duration of loadshedding, News24 reported.

Nelson Mandela Bay's MMC for electricity and energy, Zanele Sikawuti, said:

"It is important that we make it clear that the project is about cushioning our people from a total shutdown during loadshedding, instead they will have a limited electricity supply."

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South Africa faces worst loadshedding year in a decade

In another story, Briefly News reported that research complied by independent energy analyst Pieter Jordaan shows that South Africa has experienced the worst loadshedding in 2023 in the past decade.

Jordaan released the latest Power Availability Statistics (PAS), which indicate that in 2023 alone, citizens went through 1 296 blackout hours, which translates to 54 days of no electricity.

According to BusinessTech, between 2014 and 2022, Mzansi experienced around 53 days of no electricity combined, and this makes this year one of the worst-hit years of loadshedding.

Source: Briefly News