As load shedding continues and South Africans look for alternative energy solutions, Game stores have seen a 300% increase in inverter sales at its stores.
With many South Africans looking to get off the grid in the face of a looming electricity rate hike and the ongoing load shedding, Game said it had seen a significant consumer increase in gas stoves and products, and uptake of their deals on generators, inverters and other power supply products.
Between November and January to date, the retailer reported a 43% sales increase in two plate gas stoves, and a 63% sales increase on a 9KG gas cylinder.
Game’s Vice President, Andre Steyn, said: “In November, December and January to date we have seen a 101% increase in the amount of generators sold, and a 311% increase in the number of inverters sold. Since we added inverters and power cubes to our range in June 2022 we have noticed a good response from our customers.
“We find that this is a solution enjoyed by customers who live in apartments or townhouses. Our current top-selling items that are helping South Africans through load shedding are rechargeable lanterns. Ryobi 2.7KW and Ryobi 5.5 KW generators as well as surge adaptors.”
Meanwhile, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula in his keynote address at the ANC’s energy dialogue on Wednesday at the University of Johannesburg, said: “Tell the public what we are doing to resolve the (energy) problem we are in.”
Speakers, including the ANC’s national chairperson and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, academics, unionists and experts, discussed “immediate and workable solutions” to the ongoing electricity crisis.
The aim of the dialogue was to create a broader platform for an ANC-led process to allow those in the energy field to meet and talk frankly about the energy situation in the country, and ultimately create more public engagements on the matter as pressure mounts with blackouts across the nation worsening.
“Working together with the people of our country we will find a lasting solution to the energy problem. We usually engage with the people during elections to present our manifesto and then it’s gone … We are not solution-oriented and don’t behave like a party that is in power. As much as we are here theorising about the future, we are here as a solution-oriented gathering,” said Mbalula.
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