Load limiting rolling out in Lusikisiki

29 February 2024 - 09:40
By TimesLIVE
The lights can stay on during periods of load-limiting.
Image: 123RF/193426484 The lights can stay on during periods of load-limiting.

Eskom is going live with another load-limiting pilot site on Thursday in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape for residents with smart meters.

This follows a recent activation in Adelaide and Bedford and its initial rollout in some Gauteng suburbs.

“Electricity load-limiting through smart meters is being implemented to better balance the supply and demand of electricity on the grid during stages 1 to 4 of load-shedding, allowing customers to continue to use essential appliances with the capacity of up to 5 amperes”, said Eskom Cape coastal cluster general manager Mbulelo Yedwa.

Customers in the selected areas are in networks with high smart meter penetration and will not be load-shed but load-limited up to stage 4.

An hour before the start of load-shedding, these homes are prompted to reduce their consumption from 60 amperes to 5 amperes. This is enough to power only essential appliances such as lights, TVs, cellphone chargers and fridges.

TimesLIVE