Page 35 - Energize July 2021

VIEWS AND OPINION

Efficiency policies

mitigate the electricity

crisis in South Africa

programmes as part of a long-term plan to improve the efficiency of
by Win Njueh, CLASP streetlights and transition to clean, long-lasting, and environmentally
friendly LED streetlights.
n South Africa, where public utility provider Eskom is facing a severe “Across South Africa, municipalities are becoming familiar with LED
shortage in electricity supply – experts expect the country to face a streetlights, and the value proposition they offer, including longer life,
Iprotracted period of intermittent power cuts for at least another five lower running costs, better light quality and so much more”, said Ashanti
years. In an effort to reduce the energy burden on the national grid, the Mogosetsi, Standards and Labelling Programme Manager at SANEDI.
government is raising efficiency levels for high consumption products “But as with any product, there can be good and poor-quality LED
like streetlights. streetlights, so we are working with the government to improve street
lighting standards to accelerate the transition to good quality LED
Improving efficiency and quality of streetlights streetlights for cities and towns.”
Inefficient, poor-quality lighting products result in higher energy
consumption and costs for households, businesses and national South Africa champions global lighting regulations
governments. To increase efficiency and accelerate the adoption of high- The decision to develop a streetlight MEPS follows another proposed
quality lighting products, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy mandatory specification for general service lamps which would
(DMRE) and the South African National Energy Development Institute automatically transition the country to LED lighting, phasing out
(SANEDI) are developing minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) mercury-containing compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). These MEPS also
for streetlights. align with regional efforts to accelerate the transition to clean, mercury-
MEPS are efficiency policies used by regulators to ensure that products free LED lighting products. In May 2021, the South Africa Development
meet certain criteria related to energy performance. Implementing MEPS in Community Cooperation in Standardisation (SADCSTAN) approved
South Africa will accelerate market transition to energy-efficient, climate- regional lighting regulations.
friendly products and prevent the country from becoming a dumping “In terms of general service lighting regulations, South Africa
ground for products which are rejected elsewhere. is paving the way not only for African countries, but also for other
developing and developed nations,” explains James Wakaba, East Africa
Low-quality streetlights burden taxpayers Director of CLASP, the technical experts supporting the streetlight policy
South African municipalities spend an estimated one-third of their electricity development in South Africa.
consumption on street lighting installations. Without MEPS in place,
municipalities are left with energy intensive, poor quality streetlights which Africa proposes a global phase-out of fluorescents
have a short life span and contain harmful pollutants such as mercury. In April, representatives from the Africa bloc proposed an amendment
In Durban, the eThekwini Municipality is responsible for the installation to the Minamata Convention on mercury to eliminate exemptions for
and maintenance of about 187000 streetlights as well as lighting over inefficient, toxic, mercury-based fluorescent lighting. The Africa Lighting
450 public amenities. The municipality spent over R1-million in April 2021 Amendment calls for a global phase-out of the most common fluorescent
to replace faulty streetlights. By implementing MEPS, the country will lighting products by 2025, citing the rapid development of LED lighting
transition to less energy-intensive lighting technologies with longer life technologies and the emergence of new LED companies in Africa.
spans, and lower operating and maintenance costs. The new standards are Trends over the last five years have seen LED lamps become
expected to reduce electricity consumption for street lighting by 40 to 70%. readily available and affordable. Today, mercury-free LED retrofit bulbs
“South Africa strives to be a regional leader in technology and energy are available in stores across South Africa. LED light bulbs directly
efficiency. By developing MEPS for streetlights, we aim to reduce electricity replace virtually all types of conventional light bulbs, offering a wide
consumption, improve the quality of streetlights nationally, and ensure variety of sizes, lengths, colour temperatures, colour rendering and
we do not become a dumping ground for lighting technologies banned levels of light output.
elsewhere,” says Maphuti Legodi, a policy officer at the DMRE. “Expanding appliance-efficiency policies to street lighting
demonstrates South Africa’s commitment to transitioning to clean,
Efficient lighting stimulates local industry and economic growth energy-efficient lighting,” says Wakaba. “This move will stimulate local
Thanks to major advances in light-emitting diode (LED) technology, LED market growth and provide South Africans with an improved, safer
luminaires are a cost-effective, safe alternative to High Intensity Discharge lighting experience.”
(HID) lamps and fluorescents. MEPS will provide an opportunity for local
LED lighting companies to expand business operations and employ local About CLASP
staff to supply the national market and export to neighbouring countries. Clasp is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which seeks to
City Power, which has over 300000 streetlights, has allocated R125- improve the energy and environmental performance of the appliances
million for the installation of new LED streetlights over the next three years. and equipment we use every day.
This initiative will see the installation of 5500 new luminaires primarily in
townships and suburbs. The company also set aside R30-million for retrofit For more information, visit https://www.clasp.ngo/

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