Impact of Energy Literacy on Energy Consumption, Expenditure and Management

Load shedding is a major issue presently in South Africa with year 2020 being the worst experience till date. However, statistics have reported that 2021 recorded 76% of the amount of load shedding that occurred in 2020. Poor energy management culture by many consumers have contributed to energy wastage, and consequently making the utility provider to carry out load shedding in order to stabilise the grid. Therefore, we thought it necessary to carry out a study to assess the energy management culture of consumers across the country based on their level of energy literacy. The easy-to-use format of the questionnaire through the designed Google form showed acceptable content validity and good internal consistency. Structured interviews were conducted among 701 residents of South Africa across all the nine provinces. It is observed that 70.6% of the respondents do not use energy efficiently as they are mostly energy illiterate about the power ratings of their appliances. Hence, it is imperative that manufacturers and other stakeholders in the energy use sector find ways to educate people about power ratings of appliances, energy tariffs and encourage the adoption of Home Solar Energy (HSE) to reduce the demand on the utility grid and help curtail the frequency of load shedding in the country.