City Power to install new solar geysers in Midrand’s low-income households
To reduce power consumption, City Power will be auditing and installing new solar geysers at low-income households around Midrand and Lenasia.
In an attempt to alleviate pressure on the grid, City Power has embarked on auditing solar geysers in Midrand.
The programme began on March 19 and it is hoped local households will benefit.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the purpose of this initiative was to assess the working condition of solar water heaters that were installed back in 2014.
He said during this process, new geysers were installed in low-income households across all Service Delivery Centres.
In a statement issued by the entity, Mangena said thousands of solar water heaters were installed a decade ago, to shave off added pressure on the grid.
However, over the years, some of those installed units had begun to malfunction, with others no longer working altogether.
“This led to some customers reverting to conventional geysers that are high energy consuming, burdening the already strained network. To address this, 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. This work, which will include house-to-house visits for audit purposes, will be carried out by appointed agents, starting in Midrand as well as other communities from March 19,” said Mangena.
He said the energy-efficient and environmentally friendly water heaters will generate about 2.5kW per household and prevent more than 20 000 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.
The entity advises customers to grant its agents access to their premises as the visits are not aimed at switching off the power supply but to conduct work related to solar water geysers.
“These individuals will be wearing yellow TID reflector vests, and carrying valid City Power ID cards. Their identities can also be verified by contacting the City Power Risk Control Department on 011 490 7900/11.
“All the relevant contact information will be contained on the reflector vests so that customers may verify their identity on the spot. This process will benefit customers by reducing their electricity costs exponentially. It is therefore in every customer’s best interest to allow the agents entry into their houses. We equally urge them to be vigilant and be on the lookout for criminals who might come to their homes, masquerading as City Power agents.”
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