State-owned power utility Eskom has confirmed that R250-million has been set aside as part of a ‘standard offer’ to business consumers, including hotels, commercial property companies and light manufacturers, that are able to prove a reduction in their power consumption patterns.

Successful applicants will secure a three-year contract with Eskom, with 40% of the payment made after the energy savings have been made and verified. The balance will be paid in tranches at the end of each year.

Integrated Demand Management (IDM) senior GM Andrew Etzinger says the scheme will be implemented on a first-come-first-serve basis and that no new contracts will be entered into after March 31, 2013.

Participants can approach Eskom directly, or mandate an energy services company to submit applications for projects ranging in size from 50 kW to a maximum of 1 MW.

A process of monitoring and verification would be instituted and Eskom hopes to save 50 MW under the scheme, which forms part of the larger IDM aspiration to reduce power consumption by about 1 073 MW by March 2013.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has already set aside R5.4-billion through the tariff mechanism to support the overall initiative.

Technologies to be considered under the standard offer include lighting, building management systems, hot water systems and process optimisation. A pre-approved rate/kWh for energy savings has been set for each technology.