Solar Geysers: Low-income residents in Midrand get new geysers from City
City Power has initiated a programme to audit and install new solar geysers in low-income households across Midrand and Lenasia.
A bid by City Power to install new geysers is part of the City’s efforts to take strain off Johannesburg’s power grid, and promote energy efficiency.
The programme commenced on 19 March, with aims to benefit low-income households in the Midrand area.
Isaac Mangena, spokesperson for City Power, said the first objective of the programme was to assess the working condition of solar water heaters that were installed 10 years ago.
WEAR AND TEAR OF GEYSERS
According to Mangena, thousands of solar water heaters were installed in 2014 to alleviate pressure on the grid.
However over time, some of these units began to malfunction, or stopped working entirely. This led to some residents reverting to conventional geysers that consume more energy.
This has burdened the already-strained power network due to load shedding.
As part of the initiative, new solar geysers will be installed in these low-income households across all Service Delivery Centres.
“The utility has started with the process of assessing those water heating facilities, to see how many are functioning well out of all that were installed,” Mangena told the Midrand Reporter.
“This work, which will include house-to-house visits for audit purposes, will be carried out by appointed agents, starting in Midrand.”
NOT JUST EFFICIENT, BUT ECO-FRIENDLY
Mangena said these energy-efficient and eco-friendly water heaters are expected to generate approximately 2.5kW per household.
They will also prevent the release of over 20 000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
City Power has urged customers to cooperate with its agents during the audit process. The entity has assured residents that the visits are not intended to disrupt power supply, but to conduct work related to solar geysers.
The agents will be identified by their yellow TID reflector vests, and will be carrying valid City Power ID cards. This in an effort to prevent criminals from masquerading as City Power agents to gain entry into people’s homes.
CITY POWER DISCONNECTS DEFAULTING BUSINESSES
While City Power does good with low-income households, the entity has been on a warpath with defaulting businesses who are behind on rates payments.
The Revenue Collection Drive has been targeting these customers, and recently disconnected eight businesses from the grid in Kya Sand. Read more on that story here.