Power utility Eskom said on Thursday that it was offering its business customers free electricity load profile audits, which would assist businesses to free up existing electrical capacity without having to invest in new points of supply and/or upgrades in supply.
Eskom noted that sufficient capacity enabled customers to optimally improve their productivity and expand their operations.
The utility said that the load profile audit and load optimisation solution formed part of a basket of initiatives and incentives that was tailored to support business growth.
Having a clear understanding of the potential positive impact of load optimisation requires customers to gather energy use intelligence, which includes understanding their energy needs and their electrical systems and associated processes, for example irrigation for farmers.
Additionally, it is necessary for customers to recognise where and when energy is used at any given time, to investigate the latest technologies and process developments, to analyse how to reduce energy investments costs for example with new supply points, to consider how energy use patterns can be shifted from peak to off-peak periods, to consider how seasonal energy use can be managed, and to manage the constraints on the energy system to optimise energy use.