"Time of Use" in Cape Town (1 Key Investment)

“Time of Use” in Cape Town (1 Key Investment)

In July of 2021, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) issued a decision whereby municipalities including the City of Cape Town are recommended to develop time-of-use and seasonal tariffs for electricity. This means that energy bills will be vastly different in winter compared to summer. Furthermore, energy bills may be drastically different based on the time of day when the units were consumed.

“Time of use” has left South Africans in all sectors scratching their heads – concerns over how this will affect industry profitability abound. What will TOU energy tariffs mean for the Western Cape? What is the cost of 1 unit of electricity in 2022? What are the cheapest times to use electricity? Thankfully, wherever there’s an energy problem there’s an Inpower solution and our energy experts have all the answers you’re looking for.

What Does Time of Use Mean for LPUs?

Effective from the 1st September 2021, the Large Power User tariff structure has been discontinued and all customers on this tariff have been moved automatically to the new Time of Use Tariff. According to Inpower Operations Manager, Andre van Niekerk, “There are approximately 1500 LPU customers in the CoCT and this impacts them.” If a facility’s energy use profile is consistent throughout the day, then there exists the potential to optimise. That means, adjusting the operation times of high consumption machinery and equipment (refrigeration & chillers, washers, ovens, kilns & furnaces to name a few) can reduce your company’s overheads. Inpower experts use data logging and analysis to evaluate load profiles and can implement solutions accordingly to help save you money.

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Inpower is a leading installer of Solar PV in Cape Town and can help you realise the investment opportunity which Time of Use Tariffs present.

Key Investment Opportunity

The changes in tariff structure will have a key impact on the viability of solar PV generation in residential, commercial, and industrial contexts. Kevin Kotzen (B.Sc Elec Eng & Researcher at GreenCape) indicates that the “large price increases approved by NERSA and implemented by Eskom and the rapidly declining cost of solar panels means that grid price parity between solar PV and the utility tariffs is soon likely to be realised”. Inpower is a leading installer of solar PV systems in the Western Cape. To date, we’ve installed solar panels at numerous locations across the Western Cape and we can do the same for you.

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