South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki announced in his state of the nation address that an Energy Champions initiative would be enacted to inform, educate, and urge residents to use efficient and sustainable use of electricity, said Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The Deputy President added that it is South Africa’s goal to lower energy consumption by 10% to 15% within the next six months with a targeted savings of 150 MW to begin.
Some of these initiatives included in the plan are a resolution to participate in a campaign on the efficient use of geysers, pipe insulation, and solar water heating; overseeing a program to accelerate efficient traffic signals and street lights; joining the ten-million efficient light-bulb distribution campaign; working with government to ensure that the entire value chain of generation, transmission, and distribution is seamless; and working with government in the enforcement campaign against electricity theft.
The Energy Champions plan was first introduced in February, just after a major power outage in January riddled the country. Mlambo-Ngcuka said, “Many people and companies are still wasting a lot of electricity unnecessarily. Thus, economic growth is not being compromised through energy-saving initiatives.”