Tag: battery storage

Let's face it: South Africa's power grid is not winning any awards for reliability. Our data centres are feeling the heat - and not in a good way. These digital powerhouses not only keep our online world spinning but are also fuelling the recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution - yet their ever-expanding capabilities hinge on one critical requirement: an uninterrupted power supply.

Today, many power industry stakeholders are faced with mounting requirements for improved grid reliability, resilience, and distribution efficiency. It’s a challenge which requires power service providers to rethink their infrastructure, particularly making the most of smart grid philosophies in their deployments.

The fast-evolving emobility sector presents a significant opportunity for sustainable growth and job creation in Africa, but some constraints need to be overcome. Many South Africans who struggle every day to reach their places of work using minibus taxis or cars on congested motorways may find it hard to believe that an emobility revolution is about to happen. But there are a number of trends moving in that direction.

For most businesses, hours without electricity are hours that revenue, resources and opportunities are lost. It is important for businesses to diversify their energy sources and battery storage has become an increasingly favourable, and in many cases, indispensable option.

Last year, South African businesses were spared from Eskom’s proposed 32% tariff hike, which would have come into effect from 1 April 2023, with energy regulator National Energy Regulator (NERSA) postponing its decision on this for the next two financial years.