Welcome to Eskom's well hidden Solar incentive program

Why do they make this so hard to find?! Anyway, for those of you that don't know, Eskom has launched a rebate programme for purchasing a solar powered geyser...to get all of us of our butts and minimizing our carbon/energy footprints; They call the overall gig "Demand Side Management".

The initiative currently has five programmes;

Solar Water Heating; I really like this one cause I'm a solar fan but it can be the sales process, actual rebate scheme and certified supplier listings makes it all a little tricky. I'm actually engaging in the programme to purchase one of these - will keep you posted - seeing on of the suppliers this week.

The rebates are approximately 10% of overall costs which varies between R12,000 and R28,000. Click here for the approved suppliers, the costs and rebate outline.

Note: You don't get the rebate - the supplier has to claim it back - you just get it discounted from the overall invoiced price. i.e. "The supplier has to have complete documentation to claim the incentive amount back, thus discounting your price."

We're getting there people...one small step in the right direction here ;) But, as those of you that read these blog postings know, I'd much prefer Eskom stepped aside and government just introduced a carbon tax rebate scheme...and get out the way for private industry to engage the consumers.

Residential Load Management - this one is scary - the site says; "How does it work?
A small control unit (relay) is installed in the home of the customer. This unit will switch off the supply to the geyser during peak demand periods for a predetermined period. Groups of geysers and individual geysers will be controlled and monitored centrally from the local Municipal Energy Centre by means of a radio or/and ripple based communication system. The Centre will also take care of all customer queries." - lovely... device installed in my home that allows government to control what gets energy...and what does not...freaky!

These others I'm not really that interested in;

Energy Efficient Motors
CFL Exchange - free bulb exchange for certain towns
Power Alert