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The small artsy town of Clarens in the Free State has become South Africa’s first ‘smart town’ after partnering with Eskom on a new app-based load management scheme.

Known for being a refuge for artists and artisans from across the country, Clarens is now the first town in South Africa to manage its own electricity load through load curtailment.

The ‘village vibe’ seems to have made this the perfect place to pilot the concept of ‘group curtailment’ – where a community manages its own load curtailment. And it seems to be working.

“As Clarens is already gearing up for smart city initiatives with smart metering and electrical vehicle charging stations already installed, as well as a well-diverse spread of small-scale embedded generators (SSEGs), Eskom was eager to help Clarens residents in the evolution from an art town to a smart town,” Eskom said.

Art town to smart town are the most creative words to come out of Eskom in a while.

“Group curtailment requires the collaborative efforts of the entire community to reduce load when requested. Once a system emergency is declared, Eskom gives a nominated group coordinator two hours’ notice of load curtailment that should be sustained throughout load-shedding.”

The success of this project is thanks to an app that signals locals when curtailment is called for. Each person then takes it upon themselves to reduce demand by switching off whatever appliances they can.

Gert Kruger, Clarens’ group coordinator, and also owner and director of the company that developed the app, told BusinessTech that a meter was installed at the town’s main point of supply. Every 60 seconds, the meter sends real-time stats on the town’s current demand, which can be passed on to users to help manage capacity.

“For a town that depends on tourism, not being subjected to load-shedding is life-changing. Although the success depends on the voluntary participation of residents and businesses, we have the community’s support as everyone benefits from cooperating,” Kruger said.

“Feedback from visitors, restaurants and accommodation establishments is very positive and without the noise of generators, tourists can enjoy Clarens’ natural beauty.”