This year’s Earth Hour event was an undoubted success. A record 5,000 people and more than 14 companies converged at the House on Fire to commemorate this important day.
The event is hosted annually by the Eswatini Electricity Company supported by local companies.
Earth Hour is a global movement where people turn off non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about climate change. The movement started in Australia and has grown worldwide, involving millions of people each year.
Locally, the nationwide switch-off event took place between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM intending to save 25 megawatts (MW) of electricity, which represents 10% of the maximum demand for electricity in the kingdom.
Speaking during the event, EEC’s Managing Director Ernest Mkhonta, noted the importance of utilizing electricity responsibly.
“We remain dedicated to achieving our energy goals and ensuring that our operations align with international climate commitments. Some of our initiatives include the solar power station in Lavumisa with a capacity of 10 megawatts. This is a state-of-the-art facility that tracks the sun. We also have a stand-alone power plant at Mvundla with a mini-grid solar project that provides energy to the nearby community, located across the Ngwempisi River. Additionally, we have hydropower expansion programs, with plans for an additional power station at Maguga, adding to our existing 23-megawatt hydroelectric power station downstream of the Maguga River.”
Mkhonta further noted that the utility is exploring geothermal energy, as energy experts suggest looking into battery storage solutions as part of efforts to enhance energy stability and integrate more renewables into the electricity supply system.
Mkhonta added that the utility is working on connecting 5,000 households to the national grid over the next five years, to ensure universal access to electricity in the kingdom by 2023.
“These aforementioned projects reflect our commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 while enhancing energy security and ensuring a just transition to clean and affordable energy for all. Climate change is already affecting our infrastructure. Extreme weather conditions like storms, heavy rainfall, rising temperatures, and droughts have caused significant damage to power infrastructure, resulting in prolonged outages and revenue losses.”