Similar to other local organisations, big-four bank Absa “definitely” has an alternative power plan in place, to mitigate the pressures of load-shedding.
This is according to Reyhana Satar, head: infrastructure, optimisation and placement within physical channels at Absa Everyday Banking, saying the bank is busy rolling out its plan.
The past few weeks have seen the country’s energy crisis escalate, as power utility Eskom again instituted rolling blackouts, reaching stage six at times.
Satar tells ITWeb that a big aspect of the bank’s alternative energy rollout is doing due diligence. “Not all of the places where we are located have sufficient roof space for us to put solar panels.
“We are looking at alternatives – the ground-breaking alternatives that are still being tested, such as locally-made power walls, etc. We’re busy trying to test it as well.
“Where we can and where the due diligence is showing that we have sufficient roof space for solar, we’re going with solar.
“But we’re also looking at other technologies in order to support that – whether it’s batteries or generators. Ideally, we don’t want to go the generator route but in some instances we have no choice because we just don’t have space, or are dependent on what the landlord is willing to give us in terms of space for the power we need to provide.
“We’ve got a fair chunk of the network mapped out for solar.”
For the road to solar, Absa ran a pilot project at its Wilkoppies branch in the North West, which, according to Satar, now runs on its own (off the grid) and is seeing savings.
The Wilkoppies pilot was to test the bank’s solar power specification and ensure it can take a full load branch, as well as making necessary tweaks and enhancements, she reveals.
“We’ve now got a programme that we’re busy rolling out in the background, so you’ll see many branches with solar,” she concludes.
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