ASSOCIATIONS
Engineering solutions to societal problems
by Chris Campbell , CEO , Consulting Engineers South Africa
In recent years , South Africa has been suffering from the increasing pool of residents who feel that they do not need to pay for utilities .
EAMONN RYAN
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large portion of the country seems to have no interest in or urgency towards paying for the electricity they consume , leading to hundreds of millions rands in lost revenue for municipalities and the nation at large . Some reports record losses upwards of R20-billion per year – losses ill afforded in a constrained economy with an unstable electricity supply .
South African Minister of Finance , Tito Mboweni , was recently reported saying that “ all of us must generate the culture of paying for services rendered ”. Indeed , a culture change is what we need , since several attempts to fight the scourge in other ways have been unsuccessful . The mindset seems to be : “ Why should I pay , if I can get away with bypassing the system ?” However , changing a culture is an incredibly challenging task and will not be achieved if we simply enforce harsher punishment for perpetrators and stricter monitoring in communities . millions of rands are still bound to fall through the cracks .
We seem to be at loggerheads , so how might we solve this challenge ? I believe that strong consideration should be given to renewable energy solutions . More specifically , constructing solar photovoltaic ( PV ) energy farms alongside mass housing developments could see communities self-regulating their energy use and even selling the surplus back to utilities . Here I am referring to formal , affordable housing developments which are already fitted with electrical infrastructure .
Coupled with battery storage technology – which is becoming increasingly advanced and commercially viable – this solar solution would solve many problems for the communities , utilities , and municipalities . With so much money being lost in revenue , it is feasible that the initial
Chris Campbell , CEO , Consulting Engineers South Africa . investment in the energy farms would be ‘ recovered ’ by further revenue losses would not be incurred . Additionally , surplus energy could be sold back to utilities , essentially acting as debt recovery . For communities , too , the system would mean free electricity without the health and safety hazards inherent in illegal connections and meter bypassing .
How would this work in practice , though , when this would essentially turn traditional ownership structures and power provision systems upside down ? Well , it would be up to the community to self-regulate the system , not too different from the ‘ stokvel ’ system , which has seen communities collectively enter into formalised profit sharing and even co-invest in empowerment share schemes that are offered by private sector companies such as MTN , SASOL or Multichoice to name but a few . In addition , such vested interest by the community will automatically be policed against theft and vandalism . This is often seen in South Africa , where communities take responsible action to self-regulate when government structures fall short ( within the confines of the law , of course ). It would be a collective effort which bears in mind everyone ’ s best interest – reliable , free , and safe electricity . This stands to be a realistic and prominent incentive .
WHAT ’ S THE CATCH ? This idea will ultimately end in disaster if the initial implementation and installation is not up to the highest standards . Quality assurance will be critical in ensuring that the solar solutions are effective and sustainable into the future . The full solar capacity of each energy farm needs to be harnessed to give this idea maximum lift . The focus cannot be on costcutting measures – as this inevitably leads to cutting of corners , too . We want to avoid a situation where ineffective solutions are deployed , which require defects to be corrected at a later stage . Aside from the waste of money , it may cause irreparable damage to the public ( community ) perception of the project which is so vital in this kind of community-oriented solution . Poor implementation will lead to a loss of faith .
Professional and pervasive oversight and supervision of the process by industry bodies would be key in ensuring quality project execution . As an agent for the clients , associations such as Consulting Engineers South Africa could play an integral role in achieving this vision , where quality is not compromised for price , and value for money is prioritised .
The biggest catch is communities and society taking ownership and responsibility for what the future of South Africa should be , and not simply relying on government to solve all our problems .
28 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2020 SAAffordHousing saaffordablehousingmag SA Affordable Housing www . saaffordablehousing . co . za