In an effort to reduce the load on the municipal electricity grid, City Power will install at least 15 000 ripple meters into homes in Bezuidenhout Valley, Bruma, Cyrildene, Dewetshof, Kensington, Reynolds View and Fairview.
City Power says it is sending letters to all tenants and homeowners in these suburbs advising them when the meters will be installed. According to City Power, residents who are approached by workers should demand to see an identity card before letting people onto the property.
The utility warns that criminals might use this initiative to gain access to private homes and as a result it’s imperative that tenants or homeowners demand identification from the workers. All City Power installation technicians carry valid identification cards.
Once the unit is installed, a radio signal from City Power is sent to the meter and this will activate the decrease in power. It will allow, for instance, the geyser to be switched off remotely for a certain period.
According to City Power, geysers in these suburbs will be switched off twice a day, but the timing on this will depend on the seasons and will generally be during peak demand periods such as early in the morning or early in the evening.
It says that peak power demands are generally experienced between 07h00 and 09h00 and between 17h00 and 20h00 each day.
City Power concedes that switching off the geyser will not result in electricity savings for the homeowners but will shift the load on the power grid, spreading the demand for electricity.
However, it will save money for tenants and homeowners as City Power’s charges for electricity at peak times is higher than those charged at off-peak periods.
City Power has assured residents in these suburbs that they will not be short of hot water in the morning or evening as the geysers will be kept on during the off-peak hours.
According to the utility, ripple meters have been widely used in South Africa since the 1970s but this is the first time that Johannesburg will be installing and using them. It cannot say how many ripple meters will eventually be installed or at what cost.
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