Light in the darkness: how South African schools should cut their electricity costs

By Jason Avron Samuels, PhD Candidate, Electrical Engineering, Stellenbosch University
Leslie van Rooi, Senior Director: Social Impact & Transformation, Stellenbosch University
MJ (Thinus) Booysen, Associate Professor at the Electrical & Electronic Engineering Department, Stellenbosch University
Sara Grobbelaar, Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering, Stellenbosch University

Despite financial constraints, high costs and the best efforts of principals, electricity usage in South Africa’s schools remains largely unchecked, as schools focus on educational outcomes. The country’s 23,471 public schools use an estimated 3.5 TWh of energy a year. This is about a quarter of Koeberg nuclear power station’s production and it costs about R5 billion ($330 million).

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