The project is led by eThekwini Municipality & Plentify
eThekwini Municipality is the only Category A metropolitan municipality found in the KwaZulu–Natal province. It is one of four coastal metropolitan municipalities in South Africa together with Cape Town, Nelson Mandela and Buffalo City.
Plentify is a smart energy company that makes affordable, reliable and clean electricity a reality for everyone. Our team fuses advanced hardware, artificial intelligence and user-centric design to create smart home products that delight our customers and strengthen electricity systems for everyone.
"So this project, it will not only help us in reducing our carbon emissions but it will also help us in to reducing the reliance on the fossil fuel." (Cindy Liptilizi, the energy Efficiency Manager for eThekwini.)
Context
eThekwini Municipality aspires to become a leader in energy efficiency, with a vision of ensuring that the majority of the energy consumed is derived from renewables and that all sectors adopt energy-efficient practices.
By reducing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, this project supports the city's broader sustainability ambitions. However, residential demand response projects often face challenges such as underfunding and limited private sector involvement, owing to the uncertainty of financial returns.
Project Smart Solar seeks to address this gap by proving the technical and financial feasibility of such initiatives, paving the way for increased private sector investment and accelerating the energy transition for both eThekwini and South Africa as a whole.
Objectives
Shift peak energy loads,
Stabilize the grid after outages, and
Increase midday energy demand to support the integration of solar and renewable energy sources.
Activities
Monitor and analyse the grid's performance during peak load shifts and grid stabilization events.
Develop frameworks for load management to optimise energy consumption during midday hours, facilitating solar energy usage.
Impacts
Stabilised energy grid, reducing the risk of outages and ensuring reliable energy access for residents and businesses.
Increased adoption of solar and renewable energy, driving the transition to a greener energy mix in eThekwini.
Reduced carbon emissions and dependency on fossil fuels, contributing to South Africa’s climate goals.
