Electricity prices in South Africa have increased by 118% over the last 10 years. Eskom has requested increases of 20.5% in 2023, 15% in 2024 and 10% in 2025. This means that schools are facing significant cost increases, which if not managed, will negatively affect school finances.

Fortunately, in many schools, electricity consumption can be managed fairly easily and sometimes significant savings can be achieved. The first steps in this process can be implemented by schools and do not require the input of professionals such as engineers and electricians.  These steps are outlined below. Schools should note that no changes to electrical circuits should be made by anyone other than qualified electricians.

• Track: Develop a simple spreadsheet to track electricity consumption every month. Input kWh figures from municipal bills. These can be cross-checked with figures from meters. Plotting these figures will enable bills to be checked for accuracy and to build an understanding of consumption patterns over the year. Figures can be compared with other schools and benchmarks to ascertain whether performance is poor, reasonable or good and can be used to prompt further measures.  
• Create Awareness: Ensure that staff and students are aware of electricity use and use this carefully. This can be promoted through posters and communication that saving energy not only reduces costs but also helps save the environment.
• Switch off: Develop procedures that ensure that electrical equipment is switched off when not in use. For instance, teachers can be asked to switch off lights and equipment when they leave classes and security guards can switch off unused equipment when they lock up buildings and when they carry out patrols.
• Upgrade: When equipment, such as lighting or water heating equipment is upgraded, make sure that energy-efficient equipment is specified. For instance, new LED lighting and solar water heaters are much more efficient than older lamps and electrical geysers.
• Plan ahead: Set energy efficiency targets and develop projects and procedures to ensure that these are achieved. This includes coordinating a range of initiatives, such as the ones above, to ensure that energy efficiency is improved on a continuous basis.