The lifestyle estates De-Aanzicht in Richwood and Greenbay in Gordons Bay could be exempt from loadshedding, should residents collectively demonstrate a track record of reducing power consumption during loadshedding phases. This is the first time that sectional title developments have joined the Load Curtailment programme.

Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin commented: “Load Curtailment places the power in residents’ hands as case studies have shown that by reducing power consumption during the various phases of load shedding, outages can be avoided altogether

“Load Curtailment is an excellent alternative to battery back-up or diesel power generators, which are not only expensive but contribute to our carbon footprint as well.”

Matthew Whalley, Managing Director for Balwin Energy explains that in practical terms Load Curtailment means that residents of De-Aanzicht and Greenbay are required to reduce their electricity consumption from 6:00 in the morning to 10:00 in the evening by between 10% and 20%, depending on loadshedding conditions.

“To remain part of the Load Curtailment programme, the respective Lifestyle Estate will collectively have to adhere to the load reduction requirements,” Whalley said.

To ensure ongoing monitoring and feedback, Balwin partnered with specialist business intelligence and monitoring firm, Augos.io.

Tim Stevens, Founder and Group CEO of Augos.io commented: “Augos.io focuses on empowering large power users with advanced load curtailment programmes, driving impactful energy efficiency at scale.

“Our strategies in virtual and aggregated load curtailment are designed to ensure ongoing compliance with evolving standards like NRS048-9.

In fact, we piloted many of the new standards in our solution.”

The National Rationalised Specifications (“NRS”) Association of South Africa recently announced the approval of the third iteration of NRS 048-9, an updated compliance mandatory code of practice for all electricity distribution utilities licensed by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (“Nersa”).

The code addresses load reduction practices, system restoration practices, critical load, and essential load requirements during system emergencies. The aim is to assist and empower various key stakeholders, including State-owned utility Eskom, municipalities, and the country to mitigate the impact of potential advanced electricity loadshedding stages and prevent a national blackout or total electricity grid collapse.

Augos.io’s monitoring system will be integrated with Balwin’s online application (“App”) for each of the lifestyle estates. Communications will be distributed via the App to inform residents when the estate is under Load Curtailment conditions, alongside Balwin’s guide on how to reduce power usage.

Balwin will consider applying for Load Curtailment at additional developments once the pilot project phases have been completed.