The City of Johannesburg’s energy company, City Power, has implemented load reduction in densely populated areas and suburbs with high usage levels that could overload electrical equipment.

City Power noted a significant surge in the average evening peak demand in select areas, rising by 65% from 25 MW in summer to 33 MW between April and May. The demand peaks at 42 MW in certain cases, marking a 110% increase compared to the warmer months.

The utility said it would also introduce load limiting through smart meters in July to assist customers in saving electricity. In an interview with SABC news, energy expert Vally Padayachee attributed the load reduction, which he said was equivalent to load shedding, to a lack of capital and an exacerbated grid. “City Power is the metro with the largest demand in the country so to protect the national grid, the localised grids also have to perform and be managed well,” he said.

“Eskom load shedding has significantly exacerbated the condition of the City Power grid. The City Power situation is symptomatic of a national problem.”

“To help reduce the strain on the grid, we are installing ripple relays as part of our load management system,” City Power said in a statement. “These relays control the electricity supply to geysers during peak hours. Geysers are among the biggest electricity guzzlers, accounting for up to 50% of monthly household energy costs. The ripple relay receivers at different households are linked to at least 69 of our substations, allowing us to remotely monitor customers’ energy consumption. City Power will remotely turn off a customer’s geyser if it reaches high consumption levels.” The list of ripple relay substations can be accessed here.