Mervyn Naidoo – 6h ago

Load shedding gets many South Africans going “eish” and cursing power utility Eskom – something that would have happened with greater frequency this week after parts of the country experienced stage 6 power cuts.

But a former Durban woman, together with her team of “lit” experts, has produced affordable alternative energy solutions to provide some relief in the dark hours.

Nafisa Fareed is the chief executive and driving force behind Power4Less, a Johannesburg-based company that specialises in providing electrical utilities.

Power4Less focuses on custom-made lighting solutions and has also made strides with other energy-efficient products, including an “always hot” geyser that significantly reduces electricity bills and is due for release later this year.

Fareed said her company, which started in 2008, entered the alternative energy market because “it needed competition” and — together with her team — they intend to “disrupt a space that was previously for the elite only”.

“There are always categories in a market that cater for a specific LSM, but power is a necessity for everyone, including RDP homes and shacks.

“Therefore, it cannot be a market specific to affordability only,” she said.

Like all switched-on entrepreneurs, Fareed said she and her team realised in advance that load shedding was going to become a reality in South Africa.

“Our power stations were old and there was no downtime for repairs.”

Another tell-tale sign for her was that the need for electricity had grown astronomically.

“The LSM barriers in many areas had shifted. Before, only certain groups could afford luxury items like air conditioners. Not any more. The lack of planning resulted in no steps being taken to service the growing need for electricity.”

Fareed said that previously stages 4, 5 and 6 of load shedding were unheard of; nowadays, blackouts have become a daily reality.

Bearing in mind the country’s energy needs, Fareed and her team — comprising electrical engineers, technicians and other specialists — worked towards providing reliable alternative energy solutions.

Their products are currently being sold at some of the country’s leading hardware and supermarket chain stores.

She said the response from customers has confirmed that there is a huge appetite for practical, plug-and-play products that don’t require major installations or technical knowledge. Many households, she added, simply want to know that when the power goes off, they can still keep the lights on, heat water and charge essential devices without breaking the bank.

Included in Power4Less’s range of creations is their version of the twirly compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), which burns brighter and uses 15 watts of power as opposed to the norm of up to 100 watts.

Power4Less has also patented an LSP lightbulb that contains a charger and stores power while connected to the grid. Once load shedding kicks in, these bulbs are able to function for up to four hours using stored energy.

“Power in a suitcase” is how their “Mobi Vault” product has been dubbed. This compact energy source, which can be carried or rolled in a case, is powered up using either solar energy, AC power points or a car battery charger.

Depending on an individual’s preference, Mobi Vaults can provide between 0.5 and 5 kilowatts of energy.

Fareed said the soon-to-be-launched geysers would consume about R1 worth of electricity daily, whereas standard geysers consume roughly R45 worth of power a day.

“Elements usually blow out on geysers, but ours functions without one. Insurance companies are going to love them,” Fareed enthused.

Power4Less’s products and solutions have also been endorsed by some government departments and leading corporates.

She said the company “changes people’s lives from being in a state of frustration to relief — and we make a profit from doing that”.

“As an entrepreneur, I’ve always believed that profit and purpose can go together. If people feel safer and more in control of their lives during outages because of our products, then we’ve done our job,” she said.

“When I started in the world of self-employment, I didn’t have criteria for what people expected an entrepreneur to be,” she said.

Fareed said everything she learnt was done on the ground, by making mistakes.

“I built a business making many mistakes, and I flourished having made mistakes.”

Only after six years of self-employment did she feel financially stable enough to study for her MBA, before achieving a master’s degree in finance from the University of Leicester in 2021.

Initially, she completed a diploma in food technology at the Durban University of Technology in 2004, before entering the working world.

About getting drawn to the field of electronics, Fareed said as an entrepreneur she was able to see a niche in the market.

“I have always been drawn to profit in value. As an entrepreneur, I find it inspiring to deliver value and be profitable, while making an impact by changing lives in a quality way.”

Fareed said she noticed a need in the alternative energy market, surrounded herself with leaders in the industry, and has increased her core team over the years.

While she doesn’t have an electrical engineering qualification, Fareed has acquired various accreditations in areas such as solar, wiring and alternative energy solutions.

“I’ve made the effort to take courses that give me a better understanding of how everything works,” she said.

Looking ahead, she hopes that South Africa’s ongoing electricity challenges will push more policy-makers, businesses and households to embrace decentralised, efficient energy solutions. “We can’t change Eskom overnight, but we can change how prepared we are in our homes and businesses,” she added.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE