With South Africa enjoying a reprieve from loadshedding, now is the time to act swiftly to secure the country’s long-term energy stability. One of the most effective yet underutilised solutions is the widespread adoption of smart geysers, and the only way to gain the full benefit of this measure is to ensure compliance through legislative action that mandates smart geyser adoption. 

”This could not be more urgent, as Eskom is currently spending billions of rands on diesel to keep the lights on, a stop-gap measure flagged by the Minerals Council South Africa’s July 2025 electricity update as unsustainable. Economist André Lourens has warned that this reliance will inevitably come back to consumers in the form of steeper electricity tariffs in years ahead, further squeezing households and businesses already under financial strain” shares Mark Allewell, CEO at Sensor Networks.

Taking decisive action today is supported by the necessary data. Early in his tenure as Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa indicated that simply switching off geysers when not in use could save up to 4,000MW – the equivalent of four stages of loadshedding. Smart geysers make this not only possible, but automatic, unlocking consistent national savings without the economic and environmental cost of burning diesel.

Geysers are among the biggest consumers of electricity in the residential sector, accounting for up to 50% of household usage. The introduction of smart geysers would therefore not only reduce the likelihood of returning to loadshedding, but also lower consumers’ electricity bills at a time when the high cost of living is a key concern to many families.

Smart geysers allow users to schedule or remotely control water heating, reducing unnecessary consumption and easing pressure on the national grid. “If we mandated smart geysers in all formal households - backed by government-funded installation in lower-income homes - the economic benefits would be massive,” said Allewell. “An estimated R85 billion investment in smart geysers is far cheaper than the R481 billion lost to the economy due to load-shedding in 2024 alone.”

Critically, the systems to implement such a mandate already exist in South Africa. “Local insurance companies are already replacing more than 10,000 geysers in the country every month” added Wayne Vertue, Country Director at Ariston Group South Africa, a local manufacturer of renewable and high-efficiency solutions. “Because government mandated a new standard for geysers in 2017, the country has developed the skills and know-how to implement a systematic approach to widescale geyser replacements. Effecting a similar process for the installation of smart geysers would rapidly increase demand for smart geysers, with positive effective effects for local manufacturing capacity and employment.”

The mandate would also support South Africa’s climate commitments and Just Energy Transition goals, making it a win-win-win proposition for the country.

“With the right support, South Africa could lead the world in pioneering this simple but powerful energy intervention,” said Allewell. “The time to act is now.”