Acting Speaker, two KwaZulu-Natal pupils have arrived at a solution to ensure that households use electricity efficiently. Sibongakonke Nxumalo and Snenhlanhla Sibiya of the Dlangezwa High School in KwaDlangezwa were the overall winners of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists.
The Grade 11 pupils were tired of electricity cuts which often disturbed their night-time study. They developed a load-shedding meter that regulates household electricity supply when the national power grid is under pressure.
When the national power supply is under pressure, the control unit housed at Eskom power stations sends a signal to the meter board to switch off everything that is using more than 100 watts of electricity in the house. This then allows for the unplugging of appliances, etc, which use a large amount of electricity before the power is switched back on. Both these pupils also won the Best Development Award, and their school will receive a mobile science kit worth R34 000. We welcome such innovative thinking and wish the pupils more success in their future endeavours. Thank you.