WATCH LIVE | Eskom briefs SA

At the power utility’s state of the grid briefing on Thursday, Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter called for South Africans to play their part in reducing the strain on the country’s tottering electricity supply.

Noting SA had about 14-million households, De Ruyter said there could be a “meaningful difference” if everyone played their part.

“If every household turned off one unnecessary light, that would save about 835MW. That’s a huge number. More than one unit that a big power station like Medupi produces,” he said.

If all households replaced incandescent light bulbs — and “energy intensive” halogen downlights in particular — evening demand could be reduced by roughly 765MW, again the equivalent of a generating unit at a big power station.

SA also had an estimated 675,000 swimming pools and the power-hungry pump motors were heavy consumers of electricity, said De Ruyter.

“If these pumps run just one hour less a day, you will still get rid of all your dirt in the water and that will save 506MW.”

TimesLIVE