In December 2019, South Africans were
hit with the highest load shedding
schedule yet, state 6.
It was met with confusion and anger from the public and a plethora of excuses from the state-owned entity namely- “a technical problem at the Medupi power station”. With an economy relying heavily on Eskom’s power, being able to access information about load shedding is more important for making contingency plans.
A South African-founded, tech-communication company, Public Display Technologies (PDT) aims to help companies and individuals by giving access to information pertaining to load shedding.
Under the pseudonym, Frikkie, PDT’s fast-reply technology captures your favourite locations and query the loadshedding schedules via the Facebook-owned instant messaging platform, WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has traditionally been a low data usage platform allowing for more individuals to gain access to pertinent power information.
Currently the schedules loaded are: City of Cape town, City of Tshwane, JHB City power, City of Ekurhuleni, eThekwini Municipality, Buffalo city, Mbombela city, Mangaung metro, City of Polokwane, Nelson Mandela bay municipality and Msanduzi Municipality.
“Without taking up more space on your mobile device, Frikkie forms part of your daily interactions. No new applications or signing-in, just open WhatsApp”- states PDT’s CEO, Cornel van Lingen.
On an emotional level, load shedding does bring out heavy emotions and frustration so as a bonus and light-hearted gesture, Frikkie does tell witty jokes and anecdotes. With a focus on current affairs, one can also get information on the worldwide pandemic COVID-19 (Corona virus) and information on the performance of the South African Rand (ZAR).
Frikkie is available for interaction by sending
“Hi” to 0665109831 on WhatsApp.
For more information, contact vera@pdtsa.co or visit www.pdtsa.co.za. Let us know your thoughts and views on Twitter and Facebook PDT South Africa.