Michaelhouse-Impact Report-2023 (for Jan-Dec 2022)

Current Project: Energy Security & Independence

The Challenge to keep the Lights on

A growing challenge in recent years has been keeping the lights on - so much so that there are few activities on the Michaelhouse Estate that do not have to be planned around electricity availability. We remain optimistic that the country will ultimately overcome its energy challenges, but as loadshedding 1 continues to intensify, the generators Michaelhouse invested in many years ago have been under immense strain. They are showing signs of strain and instability with higher levels of loadshedding. One of these legacy generators failed in 2022 necessitating the quick purchase of a 350kVA generator, reprioritise load-capacity, and rotating generators around the school to more high-demand areas. While more efficient and effective, the use of generators is now a daily affair which has substantially increased fuel costs. This is not sustainable, cost-effective, nor environmentally responsible. While we look to the long-term, the School has focussed on short-term functionality by installing inverter/battery systems in all work areas, boarding houses and staff admin areas. This has allowed essential services (laptops/phone charging, essential lighting, access biometrics, alarm, cameras, and fire detection) to remain online during loadshedding while reducing the reliance on generators. Being online is critical for a 21st century education, so we have also installed a large inverter/battery system to support the school server room as well as all ancillary Wi-Fi areas around the school. This means we now have Wi-Fi across the campus at all times. This has become a must-have for communications as the local cell towers tend to not be available during periods of loadshedding. 1. Planned national power grid supply interruptions when electricity demand exceeds the available supply.

Our primary focus in the short term is to create green energy and significantly reduce the reliance on generators and the national grid

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