Midstream Estate, a sought-after residential estate in Midrand, is planning to install a large battery bank to store energy from solar plants, Eskom, and, if required, a bank of generators to protect residents against load-shedding.
The plan to avert load shedding stages 1 to 4 was discussed with Midstream residents at a special Energy Indaba held 7 February 2023.
The residents showed their overwhelming support for the ambitious R200 million plan, which the developers believe can be in place by August 2023.
The plan was proposed by Jan Zeederberg, a founder and director of Bondev, the developer of Midstream estate.
What makes Midstream unique is that it has a smart grid connected to an 11/88kV Eskom substation with metering and control equipment using fibre optic communication to all houses.
“Everything that falls within Midstream is one grid, managed by Midstream Electrical Supplies (MES),” Zeederberg said.
It means that Midstream has a single grid it can control, giving it the flexibility needed to address load-shedding.