While the energy crunch in South Africa will remain a problem over the medium term, the benefits of energy efficiency and management will persist for much longer, says national Measurement and Verification Council (MVCSA) board member and Southern African Association for Energy Efficiency president Karel Steyn.

He says that, amid rising energy costs worldwide, including electricity, the maintenance of generation plants to reduce the backlog and fix the grid will take time, which is unavoidable.

“The solution lies in energy management,” Steyn declares, citing the US, which had a similar energy crunch during the 1970s, as an example. Through the implementation of widespread energy-management initiatives, the country not only reduced its energy consumption by between 20% and 40%, but also continued to enjoy the benefits of the initiative for 40 years, as energy management has become a part of corporate culture.

Industry and commerce in South Africa can leverage the benefit of energy management, which includes energy efficiency, to ensure cost mitigation and future sustainability.

They can also use it to prepare for carbon taxes. Carbon mitigation and avoidance are increasingly important elements for exporters to developed markets and are also boosted by good energy management.

“Energy cost is a controllable expense. To implement energy management, users require detailed information on how much energy various processes and equipment use and when they use it,” Steyn says.

He notes that this information guides rational choices to achieve significant savings in areas such as heating, pumping, cooling and lighting, while also improving the sustainability of the business.

South Africa’s energy crunch can be mitigated through broad-based energy management by government and private-sector organisations, Steyn adds.

Eskom provides detailed information on its website about the expected power deficits for each week, up to three months ahead, based on the planned maintenance schedules of its generation base, and companies can use this to plan to mitigate the impacts on their operations.

“The creation of a culture of energy management is most crucial in achieving long-term and sustained energy efficiency,” emphasises Steyn. He spoke during the launch in March of energy management company Energy Cybernetics’ PowerWatch 2015 near-real-time energy management platform. Energy Cybernetics is a JSE-listed information and communication technology firm EOH company.

“The PowerWatch 2015 system can use all types of electricity and water meters to source data and can be deployed to benefit any company, large or small, but, while it does provide an easy way to verify energy bills, the true benefits of the system are realised only when it is actively used to manage energy and water use and ensure efficiency, ” says Energy Cybernetics CEO Frikkie Malan, underlining Steyn’s views.

While the system provides information on resource use every minute, similar to earlier versions, the new platform has been upgraded with many new aggregated resource management views that can be customised for each company or business unit to provide a near-real-time view of the most important resource management elements, he adds.

“It is an effective tool that helps empower users to manage energy and associated costs effectively and efficiently. The updated PowerWatch 2015 draws on our long-term partnerships and interactions with our clients and we will release further updates each quarter this year,” he notes.

South African companies and government organisations must improve their management of energy use with the establishment of an effective energy management culture.