This was suggested by science students taking part in the Data Science for Impact and Decision Enhancement programme at the CSIR on Wednesday.
The programme is funded by the Department of Science and Technology and implemented by the CSIR to develop skills in the field of data science.
At least 50 students from universities across the country were recruited in this year’s programme, which has trained 141 candidates since its inception in 2014.
University of Pretoria BCom Hons Econometrics student Nozipho Hlophe displayed her project based on how electricity theft exacerbated problems of energy in the country.
“We have an electricity crisis in South Africa. The more we can save electricity the better,” she said.
She suggested that the best way to save electricity was by means of electricity smart meters.
The capital city could save more power or prevent electricity theft if it installed smart meters in households, she said.
“If you are using more than you should be as a consumer, the municipality will be able to detect the deviation in the pattern of consumption.
“We are trying to save electricity as much as possible by promoting smart meters because they can save you a lot of money.
"It can let you know if people are stealing electricity or if they are using electricity in a manner they're not supposed to.”
Hlophe said her science-oriented solution of electricity theft was based on a smart meter model implemented by the Ekurhuleni Municipality.
“The municipality there is able to see if there is something wrong happening in the households or if there is someone using electricity by means of illegal connection,” she said.
Retief Lubbe, a BSC Hons Physics at Tuks worked with two other students on Project Matla, which highlighted areas where the City continued to lose electricity revenue.
The loss in electricity revenue could be the result of electricity theft or the use of renewable energy by consumers, he said.
“In Mamelodi there are lots of people who might be stealing electricity or using solar power.”
By using data-analysis, the City would know if there were people who had illegally connected electricity, he said.
Other projects exhibited looked at the identification of ships or icebergs using satellite images and the use of municipal profiles to help young people find job opportunities.
Boitumelo Mahlobo, another science student at Tuks, partnered with students from other universities to invent an instrument called Rock Pulse.
It is used in coal mines to detect seismic activities underground.
“In South African mines, especially coal mining, there are many deaths that have been experienced because of rock falls,” he said.
He said coal mines experienced roughly 77 fatalities last year, and the technology was invented to avert fatalities.
“What this device does is it senses anything that can happen within the mine. It can tell whether the activities are man-made or not.”
The students at the CSIR on Wednesday included third-year to PhD level, from various fields related to data science, including engineering, applied mathematics and business informatics.
Pretoria News