Solar electrification by the concession approach in rural Limpopo ...

Solar electrification by the concession approach in rural Limpopo province 237. Electrical appliances owned by SHS-users and gridusers7.1 Ownership and useTable 7.1: Ownership of electrical appliances: SHS and grid-usersSHS-usersGrid-usersRadio 52% 51%Radio cassette 50% 62%Hi-fi 8% 22%Colour TV 2% 25%Black and white TV 36% 33%Cell-phone charger 6% 20%Fridge/freezer 10% 13%Hotplate 8% 9%Iron 10% 33%Video 6% 7%The ownership of low power appliances like radios and black and white televisions is not verydifferent between SHS-users and grid-owners. A clear discrepancy is evident in the ownership ofcolour TVs and hi-fi systems. These consume more power and are more suited to run on gridelectricity. Cause for concern however is the ownership of fridges, hotplates, video cassetterecorders and colour TVs by some SHS-users. These appliances which are idle can be a furthersource of frustration and anxiety over the extension of the grid to these households.Table 7.2: Ownership and use of TV: SHS-users compared with grid-users and nonelectrifiedhouseholds.SHS-users Grid-users Non-electr. householdsHave TV (black and white or colour) 39% 60% 33%Watch daily 20% 20% 14%Up to 4 hours daily 37% 51% 25%Same in winter and summer 15% Missing Missing% school children watching frequently 12% 18% 4%Grid users have considerably more televisions than the other sub-samples. The percentage ofrespondents having televisions is almost double that for non-electrified households. Grid users alsowatch for longer, with 51% reporting that they watch for up to four hours daily, compared to 37%among SHS-users. The proportion of schoolchildren watching TV frequently is also highest amonggrid-users. These patterns are readily explained by the ability of grid electricity to cater for the loadsimposed upon it. SHSs or car batteries will constrain users due to their lower power capabilities andlimited energy storage capacity.ENERGY RESEARCH CENTRE