Rassie tells South Africans to get solar power: 'Frustrations gone!'

Rassie tells South Africans to get solar power: ‘Frustrations gone!’

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is one of many South Africans who have ditched load shedding in favour of solar energy systems…

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has encouraged South Africans to go the solar energy route. Images via X: @rassierugby

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus is one of many South Africans who have turned to solar energy to avoid the frustrations of load shedding.

This comes after energy supplier Eskom implemented scheduled blackouts last weekend following the failure of several power stations.

RASSIE TELLS SOUTH AFRICANS TO INVEST IN SOLAR ENERGY

In a tweet on Friday, 28 February, an excited Rassie Erasmus posted: “Game-changer! Lights on, TV on and frustrations gone”.

The Springboks coach was referring to his recently installed solar panels, which had provided power to his home despite the rollout of load shedding.

Rassie isn’t the only high-profile South African who uses solar energy.

In 2023, rapper Cassper Nyovest bragged about installing the system on both his Johannesburg and Cape Town homes.

“Bye-bye load shedding,” he bragged.

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A post shared by Refiloe Phoolo (@casspernyovest)

A year before, Pearl Thusi revealed that she, too, had gone off the grid.

And so did musician The Kiffness, who tweeted about spending over R130 000 to install a basic solar energy system in his Cape Town home.

Africa Solar Industry Association (Afsia) reports that South Africa consumes more than 50% of solar energy on the African continent.

The reports also indicate that in 2023, 79% of all new systems were installed on residential and commercial buildings in South Africa.

But it doesn’t come cheap – a home solar system can cost between R50 000 and R250 000

The systems come in three options:

Grid-tiered – which draws energy from the sun but relies on the grid when there isn’t enough to generate electricity.
Hybrid – which can create and store electricity and draw power from the grid only when needed.
Off-grid – which only relies on solar energy to function.