The main difference is that electricity did not start as “capped”, so everyone assumes that there is no social need to moderate electricity consumption. The primary lever that ESKOM then has is economic (the price we pay) and then draconian (load shedding). During the crisis, where there were direct consequences of over-use, I am sure electicity wastage was front of mind. But it seems load shedding is a thing of the past, and human memory of suffering is short!

My idea for the electicity crisis was to use social peer pressure: For each suburb, post a list (on the internet, at the police station) listing the last month’s electricty usage by street address, sorted from highest to lowest. The stigma of being a semi-social outcast because of continuos excessive demand should drive average consumption down. Not too different from a co-operative structure.

A different approach would be needed for industrial users although forcing publication of MWH usage in annual financial statements as part of triple-bottom-line reporting could achieve a similar effect