An Overview of Energy Efficiency Initiatives in the Residential Space

The South Africa residential sector consumes around 17% of South Africa’s total electricity but during peak periods account for up to 35% of consumption. The demand for energy during peak hours is a major driver of cost for the utility as additional capacity is required and is mainly met with diesel generation and pump storage programmes.

In order to have an impact on how and when residential end-users use electricity government is looking at various initiatives to encourage end-users to change their consumption habits.This includes various incentive programmes to increase efficiency of appliances and also the implementation of time-of-use tariffs to promote energy use outside peak times.