Cape Town - Load shedding is hitting South Africans in their pockets. Home and business owners are spending thousands of rand on electricity alternatives to keep their businesses afloat and to ensure their lives are not too disrupted by the bouts of load shedding.
As the country plunged into darkness for the third consecutive weekend, items like generators, solar panels and gas lanterns sold out quickly.
Shafik Jacobs of Makro Ottery said on Sunday that they had had a flood of business and homeowners purchasing generators over the past days and were battling to keep up with the demand.
“We are currently sold out as of Saturday and the suppliers can’t keep up with the current demand for generators both big and small,” he said.
Prices at Makro range between R5 000 for a 2 500 watt generator and a R8 000 for a 5 000 watt one.
Jacobs said that Capetonians were also spending between R3 000 and R4 000 for solar panels and gas tanks to use for cooking.
“Rechargeable LED lights and gas lanterns are the best next thing for affordable lighting. The way it has been going we will be sold out on those as well by the end of the week,” he said.
Rechargeable LED lights cost between R300 and R450.
Eskom spokesman Andrew Etzinger said power should remain on at the beginning of the week with power outrages expected to start again on Thursday.
He said that they were working around the clock to avoid unnecessary load shedding.
“We should be okay in the first part of the week until Wednesday but there is no guarantee… we will only resort to load shedding as a last resort,” he said.
Etzinger said power supply was expected to be under pressure again from Thursday if Eskom’s diesel generators didn’t receive adequate supply.
Eskom upgraded its load shedding status from stage 2 to 3 over the weekend, resulting in power cuts for up to three times a day for two and a half hours each.
Stage 1 allows for up to 1 000MW of the national load to be shed, stage 2 for up to 2 000MW and stage 3 for up to 4 000MW.
The power system supply has remained tight for the past few months due to a unit outage at the Majuba Power Station in Mpumalanga as well as continuing maintenance. On Sunday Eskom carried out stage 2 load shedding from 8am until 10pm.
Many businesses, among them banks and restaurants, had to shut their doors over the weekend due to the blackouts. Frustrated residents and business owners took to social media at the weekend to vent their frustration over the power cuts.
Cape Chamber president Janine Myburgh said the power cuts were detrimental to businesses and the workforce.
“The situation is threatening to cause a slump in the economy. It’s creating a lot of negativity in business locally and outside. It is also scaring foreign investors as they cannot guarantee business security,” she said.
Etzinger explained that despite the reserves, they are still battling to meet electricity demand.
He urged electricity consumers to use power sparingly and to switch off non-essential appliances during peak times, between 5pm and 10pm.
“We understand that it’s a frustrating time for the public, but we would like to ask consumers to just please bare with us and help us by decreasing their power consumption,” added Etzinger.
With load shedding set to continue, here is a list of things to do to survive the blackouts.
* Make sure you find out when your area will experience load shedding and which stage is under way so you can plan accordingly. The schedules can be found at: loadshedding.eskom.co.za
* Candles may be cheaper but they can be a fire hazard if left unattended. Invest in gas or rechargeable LED lights as they have a longer shelf life and they create more light.
* A power outage means no TV, computer or any other electronic equipment… this makes it a good time to catch up on your reading or family time.
* For food, stock up on non-perishables or invest in a small gas or a paraffin stove. Even better, pull out the braai-stand and invite a few friends over for that traditional South African gathering.