Clarens, SA’s only loadshedding-free town: See here

Clarens, SA’s only loadshedding-free town: See here

Residents of Clarens have reason to celebrate as load-shedding is a thing of the past in their town.

Their lives are no longer ruled by the availability or non-availability of power supplies from Eskom.

CLARENS

Residents of the pretty tourist town of Clarens in the Free State are now load-shedding free.

Their town is no longer going to be subject to SA state-run power outages.

LOAD CURTAILMENT

The town located in the foothills of the Maluti mountains in the Eastern Free State will manage its power system.

This is because residents are now equipped to manage their own electricity use through load curtailment.

MANAGING ITS OWN SUPPLY

A meter was installed at the town’s main point of electricity supply.

Every 60 seconds, the meter sends real-time statistics of the town’s current demand, prompting further reduction if required.

During curtailment stages one to four, cooperating customers are expected to reduce their power usage by 10% to 20%.

“For a town that depends on tourism, not being subjected to load-shedding is life-changing. Although the success depends on the voluntary participation of residents and businesses, we have the community’s support as everyone benefits from cooperating.” According to Gert Kruger Clarens’ group coordinator, per Engineeringnews.

SMART TOWN

Clarens has made moves to become a smart town.

The town is already gearing up for smart city initiatives with smart metering and electrical vehicle charging stations already installed, as well as a diverse spread of small-scale embedded generators.

Eskom was eager to help Clarens residents in its move to becoming a smart town.

“Load curtailment is not a new concept as many municipalities and large customers countrywide have long been managing their own demand during times of supply constraints. The concept of ‘group curtailment’ – where a community manages its own load curtailment – was however piloted in Clarens,” said Eskom’s senior manager for retail in the Free State Bibi Bedir.

LOADSHEDDING

Powercuts are a major disruption as they stop one from living a normal life.

But if you are lucky enough to have backup power from a generator, inverter or solar system then power cuts might not seem half as disruptive as they do for people without any of the above.

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