Vivica Group, which brings together local brands such as Vox, Frogfoot, Everlytic and Braintree into the same group as start-ups like Guardian Eye, Armata, Qwerti and HYPA, has launched Stage Zero, a power utility provider that aims overhaul how South African households are forced to deal with unreliable electricity supply.
Stage Zero is not just another provider of solar or battery backup systems attempting to position a new product, says Stage Zero CEO, Abraham van der Merwe. Rather, it aims to sell a value proposition – in the form of utility cost savings or loadshedding protection – without the burden of long-term risk currently associated with the industry.
“We did things differently,” explains Van Der Merwe. “We looked at the industry and noticed several problems. First, no one was making a clear value proposition to the customer. In other words, what are you going to achieve? Will you save money, or will you simply be paying extra on top of your utility bill? Will you be guaranteed to survive load shedding?
“Then, we noticed that while there are many solutions out there, they are all complex. You can’t expect households to understand and provide their consumption profiles, never mind the PV technology such as inverter, battery and solar panel types. How can a household be expected to oversee the sizing and specification planning of the solution with no guarantee of actual utility cost savings?
“Beyond this, we also realised that once the customer pays for an installation and buys products, there’s no one who looks after the solution once it is up and running.
“Current solutions are also not built with aesthetics in mind, and to be blunt, are an eyesore that one wants to hide away. We set out to build something beautiful that adds to the aesthetic value of the house,” he adds.
“Going a bit deeper, we noticed that everyone is either selling solutions or renting them with caveats. In other words, the customer is locked in for a very long period, or they must buy the solution if they no longer want to rent. This places all the risk on the shoulders of the consumer. But this is out of touch with reality – what if someone needs to move house, downsize or gets divorced and moves out? Life is unpredictable and people need flexibility to be let off the hook.”
Van der Merwe adds that around one-third of households don’t have access to their rooftops as they live in multi dwelling units. The same applies to many businesses. “These customers require protection from load shedding even though solar is not an option.
“So we developed a range of backup only solutions which are identical to their solar rooftop equivalents and have already deployed these at a number of residential and commercial customers including well known retailers such as Edgars, LEGiT, KEEDO and Clothing Junction. For those on the move we also created a range of portable power solutions.”
When it comes to compliance, Van der Merwe says many consumers are in the dark about this too. “How many customers know that the installer must provide a certificate of compliance? Did the installer register the solution with the municipality? Did they do the grid tie-in properly and according to specification? Very few people realise that households can be liable for large fines if these compliance steps are not covered, never mind that a faulty installation can endanger their own or other households.”
He says that, after analysing what was currently available to South African households, the team developed Stage Zero, which will enter into short-term contracts with homeowners who wish to save on their utility bills or reduce their exposure to load shedding. Stage Zero will meet these obligations through harnessing solar power or through its battery backup solutions owned and maintained by Stage Zero throughout the contract.
The crux of the Stage Zero proposition, he says, is that it is a short-term utility contract with no obligation around the equipment once the service is no longer needed.