⚡ When There’s Too Much Power…

Plus: 500 best ChatGPT plugins, SA flocking to the movies, Mr “gangsta-boy” Sinatra & the world’s first phone-free island.

Newsletter

July 18, 2023

Hi there,

Keen to get away from that smartphone? This Finnish island aims to become the world’s first “phone-free” island. They are even giving tourists stickers to put over their screens so as to still use their phones as cameras.

In this Open Letter:

The flipside: Opportunities in energy oversupply.
MC Sinatra, more movies & bye-bye 7de Laan.
Happy days: The 10-star Customer Experience method.
Get startup ideas: Refer a friend to unlock our new opportunity picks.
Shiny new polls: Vote and see votes.

TRENDING NOW

Too Much Power

When they pay you to use it…

With the whole world set on Green Energy – whether due to climate activists and policymakers lobbying in Murca, Europe and the rest of the first world, or driven by the necessity to survive loadshedding here in SA – there was a bit of an unexpected trend these past few weeks… Negative electricity prices in Europe.

Due to good weather and favourable conditions up North and the fact that renewables have now surpassed coal generation, their power prices have dropped below zero a few times now. Yep, that’s right, every now and again they’ve been paying people to use electricity as it’s cheaper for renewable power plants to pay customers to use more electricity than it would be to shut the plant down. Coupled with a coincidental drop in demand, it saw prices as low as minus R1’500 per megawatt hour.

And this might just be the future of electricity as more and more renewables enter the grid.

Record-Breaking South African Solar

Back home, and mega-unsurprisingly, South Africans have been loading up on solar to mitigate the impact of loadshedding, and you can bet it’s starting to make an impact.

In 2022, R5.6 billion worth of solar panels were imported. And in the first quarter of this year, that number is already sitting at R3.6 billion. Which equates to between 700MW–1000MW of solar capacity added in Q1 alone. With 1000MW = 1 stage of loadshedding, if the rate of installation continues at the same trend, we might see 4000MW of renewables hitting the grid by year-end, reducing load shedding by 4 stages (assuming we can supply solar power back into the grid – do it, Uncle Cyril).

But what happens when solar and wind end up providing way more than we need to keep the lights on?

What do the numbers say?

If you haven't already checked it out, the EskomSePush (ESP) app already shows daily Capacity Forecasts under the “ Insights” part of the app.

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At its lowest point of demand – 2 AM – SA was forecast to be using just under 20’000 MW – way less than is available. But what is most interesting is the line of supply is pretty straight (constant) at the moment. With renewables incoming, that is set to change.

Why is this important?

We all know government needs a plan to keep the lights on. But noting this global trend, post our loadshedding days, the way electricity is sold, stored and used is bound to change drastically. I.e. when that Available line starts to fluctuate…

What will happen?

Imagine energy prices fluctuating like stock prices – and all the wonderful opportunities that would bring…

Batteries and inverters and/or other electricity storage can become a game changer when prices fluctuate between getting paid to use and paying to use. It could allow you to buy electricity when it's cheap, and use it when it's expensive.

And that would need entirely new tech solutions:

Services to show prices and/or auction electricity at various prices.
A smart inverter system for homes that buys power when it's cheap and uses it when it's pricey.
Larger electricity storage solutions and management systems for companies and even municipalities.

Electricity arbitrage could be an interesting opportunity if prices of electricity differ substantially for different times of the day or even between different regions. Buy low sell high – just like crypto or stocks (for some people, at least).

Finally, with solar panels and battery prices dropping rapidly, loadshedding might not only be a thing of the past (whether Eskom and government continue to do nothing about it or not) but we could see a whole host of new opportunities, as we said a few weeks ago in our letter on new business opportunities in energy.

IN SHORT

🤖 AI Toolbox. With the rate at which AI is developing and the sheer volume of AI products, tools and platforms hitting the streets, it could be overwhelming to find something useful. Fear not. Check out these 500 ChatGPT plugins tested.

🤑 TikTok or TechTitan? Not satisfied with going after Apple and Spotify’s music streaming pie, TikTok has announced its plans to go after Amazon and other e-commerce players with TikTok Shop, a bustling livestream marketplace set to hit US$ 20 billion in gross merchandise value by the end of 2023.

🔥 Hot Track. Frank Sinatra just dropped his latest single – A cover of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”. The AI-generated track (practically indistinguishable from the Jazz Icon’s style and voice) is an absolute masterpiece.

🍿 Magic at the Movies. Looks like the SA cinema landscape is recovering after Covid. Ster Kinekor has reported that their revenue is up 27% compared to last year, coupled with an uptick in attendance.

🚧 Roadblocked. After 24 seasons over 23 years on South African TV, the popular daily soapie, 7de Laan, has been cancelled. The fictional but iconic suburb, Hillside, was home to some of Afrikaans TV's most memorable characters, with many of the cast becoming household names. The final episode will air on Boxing Day this year.

BUILDER’S CORNER

3 Steps to Delight Subs Like Crazy

So, you have your MVP or scaled-down product running and are focusing like crazy on delighting people – you know, to build that sweet, sweet customer experience that’ll make ‘em a client for life…

And those key moments – like when someone subscribes to your service or buys your product – are your chance to break out the champagne, and wine and dine like crazy.

Now, you might remember a few weeks ago in our letter on the SA taxi crisis, when we spoke to Mxit, Snapscan, OfferZen etc. mover Ben Blaine about doing things that don't scale. A huge insight from this was his views on creating these awesome customer experiences.

We were paying attention and built out the gist of it for you here:

3 Steps to Creating a Customer Experience that Zings

1. Image the ultimate 10-star experience

We all want a 5-star experience, but it’s tricky to design because the limit of 5 limits your thinking – you tend to 3.5 stars, which isn’t that great.

So, go a bit over the top. Start with 10. Sit with your team and ask: What would we do to make the customer experience a 10-star experience? If money (or reality) was no obstacle at all?

Like, imagine someone signs up, and your ultimate 10-star experience would be to have Taylor Swift personally appear at their door to serenade them “congratulations”, and give them a bottle of champagne and a biltong basket or whatever.

(We don’t know, whatever you imagine the ultimate is for your brand/product).

2. Scale it back a bit to what’s possible

Ok, so you can’t afford to hire Taylor Swift for even one sign-up, but maybe you can send them an email that when they open it, plays a Taylor Swift song or jingle. And maybe it’s somewhat possible to courier the guy a bottle of champers and some biltong? (Depending on the lifetime income you’re likely to generate, of course.) How’s that for an experience?

Or maybe just the jingle is pretty cool, and maybe a voucher. Whatever you can actually afford that brings you as close to that ultimate dream celebration scenario.

3. Don’t sleep on it

Once you have an idea that might work, do it. If it’s possible, don’t wait. That little bit extra might be what drives your adoption up when you need it most. And, if you’re talking about brand differentiation, well, you’re defs going to stand out among the guys who don’t put in a little extra celebration.

Dream about a 10, design a 7 and hit a 5 every time!

What would you like to see when you refer a friend to The Open Letter? We can’t quite do a Taylor Swift, but we will give you a major digital high-5 and refer two friends and get a free coffee! Want something else? Hit reply and lay it on us…