In South Africa, energy generation is regularly too low to meet demand. Eskom, the national energy company, performs scheduled Load Shedding; sections of the grid are powered off, so that limited generation can supply demand. There are widespread deployments of local backup generation and battery storage at commercial premises such as offices and hotels so that they can cope with load shedding, but socially disadvantaged people do not have such resources.

Eskom supplies municipalities, who then distribute and sell the energy to energy consumers. On average, 27% of municipal revenue is derived from selling energy. Changes to Eskom tariffs, with higher price periods, cause municipalities financial challenges. For example, Hessequa are losing 3Million rand per month.

This project will provide demand side control to municipalities. In its simplest form this involves temporarily turning-down electrical demands such as air-conditioning or water pumps, at times of high price. This will be controlled by Gridimp's innovative iDSR (Intelligent Demand Side Response) technology which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce maintenance and configuration costs.

The installation involves an engineer installing the control appliance on-site and connecting it to local sensors using our engineering console. This project will create new software to integrate with IoT sensors, plus a new interface to the microgrid controller to enable control or charging/discharging of batteries.

Gridimp will be the lead UK partner and provider of demand control technology. GreenSun will be the South African partner, leading the installation work. The project demonstration customer will be Hessequa Municipality. Hessequa Municipality have provided their support to this project, are recognised as a green leader amongst municipalities in South Africa and are committed to helping us to create a model for other municipalities to follow.

The main impacts of the project will be**:**

1. Use demand response at scale to avoid load shedding, supporting **greater reliability** -- key to multiple UN objectives (including GESI)
2. **Avoid excessive charges** to municipalities & direct Eskom customers. Increase available funds for investment in network reinforcement and social projects
3. Create a **low-carbon balancing reserve** to enable an increased uptake for intermittent renewable generation

This project will address load-shedding in South Africa, reducing blackouts and delivering cheaper, cleaner, more reliable energy to all, supporting GESI, ODA and the Energy Trilemma goals. The project will bring smart energy skills training to local people, focussing on social inclusion (GESI), to secure these gains as a project legacy.