From Friday, 23 June 2023, communities in parts of Gauteng will be part of Eskom’s ‘Load Limiting Project’, a pilot the utility hopes will provide an actionable solution to managing loadshedding nationally.
What is the Eskom Load Limiting Project?
In a statement, the state-owned company explained that the Load Limiting Project will leverage the functions of smart meters to encourage homeowners to optimise electricity consumption “to better balance the supply and demand of electricity on the grid, [between] Stages 1 and 4 of loadshedding.”
According to Eskom, households participating in the Load Limiting Project will be able to use essential appliances during Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 loadshedding.
Homeowners will receive a notification an hour before the start of the loadshedding schedule, prompting them to reduce their consumption.
To promote leniency, Eskom explained homeowners will be allowed four opportunities to reduce consumption, failure of which will trigger the smart meter’s off-switch “for the duration of the loadshedding period.”
Which suburbs are part of the pilot?
While Eskom plans to roll out the Load Limiting Project nationally, a pilot launched in Fourways, Gauteng, on Friday, 23 June 2023.
The utility has yet to issue an informed update on the state of the power system. However, when this article was published, rotational outages were suspended during the day, with plans to resume at Stage 3 from 16:00 until midnight.
Participating residents from Fourways may have received a notice on reducing consumption based on the instructions we break down below.
This article will be updated with more suburbs when Eskom releases further information.
How does Load Limiting work?
The purpose of the Load Limiting Project is to allow households access to essential appliances during loadshedding between Stages 1 and 4.
In order to achieve this, Eskom works with households to reduce electricity capacity on the smart meter from a minimum of 60 Amps to 10 Amps.
While this, in numeric terms, may seem like a drastic reduction, a household with a 10 Amp electrical circuit limit can still power the following items:
- LED or CFL light bulbs
- Television (smaller models)
- Radio or stereo system
- Laptop or desktop computer
- Router or modem
- Refrigerator (smaller or energy-efficient models)
- Microwave oven (lower power models)
- Electric kettle (lower power models)
- Toaster
- Blender or food processor (lower power models)
- Coffee maker (lower power models)
- Iron (lower power models)
- Hairdryer (lower power models)
- Electric fan (lower power models)
- Table lamp
For reference, an ampere (Amp) is the unit used to quantify the flow of electric current in a circuit. It represents the rate at which electric charges (electrons) flow through a conductor.
“The power utility appeals to customers who have been selected as part of the pilot to partner with it in ensuring that the impact of loadshedding is reduced,” the utility pleaded.