This afternoon I had the power utility company knock on our gate wanting to know if we had a Geyser relay switch installed. I have heard about them, but honestly never paid close attention because we are going off the grid never to be seen again. At least it was for that and not our electricity meter which apparently is not even registered on their system. Still we have heard nothing and I am not going to raise the topic voluntary when it is their fault.
A Geyser relay switch allows them the supplier to control when ad how you use the geyser and to turn it off during peak hours. They will cut the geyser off between 9-12 am and 6-8pm in the evenings and also when power is restored after load shedding so as not to overload the network. Currently it has been a lottery whether power is restored or not due to the capacity being overloaded.
I think every household will turn on their appliances immediately including the kettle which you cannot blame them because if you have not had a cup of coffee or tea for 4 hours it is a natural desire.
My thoughts are that this year things are going to get far worse and expect to see the 8 hour power cuts more regularly and why they want more geyser relay switches in their control. There are some drastic measures being contemplated which includes a 32 hour power cut for 1/3rd of the entire country. This would be disastrous if implemented because this is not just residential, but businesses as well.
There is big trouble looming and the masses have no idea because this plan is on hold until after the elections. The elections are on the 29th May and depending how the vote goes which we do not expect any change in the government they will be load shedding directly after that is over. We have had no power cuts for a few months now and we need to take advantage of living a normal life for once.
The funny thing is they still wat to supply you with a geyser relay even if you have a solar geyser installation because of the majority with solar still relying on the grid for back up supply. I have over specified what the house requires and will have spare capacity and 2.5 x more than the average house being at 8kwh and mine at 20kwh. This is why I am taking no chances because this is going to be a seriously bad time and I feel for everyone who cannot afford this type of system. This I am hoping to have installed on the first week we are back from the trip to Europe which should be mid to late May.
This is a must have investment that will increase the value of the property and buyers will only be too happy knowing they are entirely off the grid. many have the cheaper back up power supply options with battery packs that last 4 hours so with the 8 hour power cuts imminently expected to hit in June they will have only half the power required. Those with the smaller solar units will also struggle and would need to upgrade again.
