Dark times for business
Rolling blackouts threaten jobs and profitability of Bay firms
Melting ice-cream that has to be thrown out, customers unable to swipe bank cards, the risk of unfinished tattoos, damage to equipment, and the loss of custom and tens of thousands of rand in sales – Eskom’s fresh round of load-shedding is having a debilitating impact on Bay businesses.
Companies said on Tuesday they were struggling to survive the rolling blackouts and often inaccurate load-shedding schedules while incurring considerable short- and long-term losses.
Tony Kruger, co-owner of il Gelato in Newton Park, said its handmade, additive-free icecream was particularly susceptible to power outages.
“We can survive a two-hour outage but, after four hours, it starts to melt and then we have to chuck it,” he said.
Besides damaging the product, the power fluctuations were also continually blowing fuses on the compressors.
“It’s costing us a fortune and we can’t get insurance because our business is deemed high risk by the insurers,” he said.
The company, which employs nine people, lost about R20,000 because of intermittent outages in 2018 – and 2019 had not begun well, he said.
By the time Eskom’s first-ever stage four load-shedding outage hit on Monday, however, it had managed to save most of the stock by trucking it to a buyer in Jeffreys Bay.
“We have thought about a generator but that will set us back R180,000, which we can’t afford, so it’s just a matter of managing the situation as best we can,” Kruger said.
Jongo Mahala, owner of Morro Pizza up the road from il Gelato, said it had lost thousands of rand during Monday’s outage.
The pizzeria is geared around “African-flavoured pizzas”, produced with spices from Mahala’s birthplace of Morogoro in Tanzania, and they often get mass orders from big companies. “But when people want their food and you cannot provide, then you lose that custom,” he said.
Co-owner Ike Mooi said: “It is killing the business and Eskom’s reporting of the situamy tion is poor.” New Brighton businesswoman Funeka Mkhize, of F’s Lounge, said the load-shedding often hit her on her busiest days.
“It has affected my business and other business owners in area negatively. On Sunday, the power cuts hit us twice and I had to close early.”
Lindsay Allin, the manager at Debonair Dry Cleaners in Cape Road, said: “All our equipment requires electricity to operate – from the washing and drying machines to the conveyor where we rack the clothes ready for collection, the sewing machine where we do repairs and the card-swipe machine where customers make payments.
“It’s so frustrating having the equipment required to provide a professional and much-needed service but then when loadshedding hits, our business comes to a standstill.
“Today, I haven’t received a schedule but how can you trust it anyway?
“We listen for alerts on the radio, but it’s plugged in so even the radio goes dead, so we will just have to wait and see.”
George Darné, the owner of a Newton Park service station, said he was taking a double hit from the load-shedding.
“On Monday, we had no electricity for two hours in the morning and then four hours last night,” he said.
“It cost us the sale of about 1,500l of fuel – so about R20,000.
“But more than that, it’s a knock-on effect with the possible loss of customers who used to rely on us and now may not come again.
“It’s irreparable damage.” Darné said he could not afford a generator and queried why the wind farms mushrooming all over the Eastern Cape had not helped to stabilise power supply to ordinary citizens.
The Hobie Beach KFC was locked at lunchtime on Tuesday, with the staff sitting around disconsolately, waiting for the power to return.
Manager Zuki Mnxeba said that when the outage started at 10.30am, the staff had spent some time cleaning but it had been hard to motivate them further after three hours.
“It has clearly affected our sales, especially on a lovely morning like this with plenty of people around.
“Tuesday is also our specials day and we had lots of people we had to turn away.”
Humewood’s Company Social Brasserie manager, Zane Carolus, was more upbeat.
“Our waffle, pizza and vegetable ovens are out of action as well as our barista coffee machine, and our air conditioning does not work.
“But we have a wonderful system of sliding doors to allow the cool air in and we’re upselling on our rumps and sirloins, which we’re cooking on our gas stove,” he said.
Two generators had been damaged because they were unable to handle the demand from all the power points and it was important to buy a big enough generator, Carolus said.
“I also advise that businesses should switch off all their big appliances when they’re not in use, otherwise they can be damaged when the power comes back on.”
Automat Dry Cleaners CEO
‘A reliable supply of electricity is crucial for businesses to remain sustainable’ Nomkhita Mona
BUSINESS CHAMBER CEO
Ivanhoe Perelson, 63, said the power outages had been a problem for years and were just getting worse.
“Yesterday, it went out twice,” she said.
“We lost a huge amount of trade at our self-service branch in Clyde Street in Central with people walking out.
“When we lose trade, it affects the business and in the end affects employment.”
Cecil Lindgren, of InkSpired Tattoo Studio in Newton Park, said: “Load-shedding is bad for business because I have had to turn people away or close shop.
“I don’t know what I would do if the power went off and I was busy with a tattoo or a tongue piercing.
“With tattoos, the skin heals immediately. So the customer would have to wait another month or so for me to finish off the work.”
Chef Ralph Gottschalk, 53, of The Pastryworks, said he had been forced to take all his stock out of his Perridgevale shop on Monday because it used fresh cream, and transport it to one of the company’s other shops.
“We can’t operate like this. The end result is loss of jobs.”
Meanwhile, Arthur Fennell, 60, of Fennells Gas Appliances, said business had picked up, especially at his North End and Newton Park shops.
“It is beneficial in the short term, but what we find is that the products people buy when there’s load-shedding – that market dies when there’s no load-shedding.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber CEO Nomkhita Mona said: “One of the worst things about this particular load-shedding is the manner in which it has been handled.
“It seems there is more to it than meets the eye.
“How can the president be ‘shocked and angry’ upon learning of the load-shedding?
“Should he not have been informed beforehand?
“Further, what is the rationale for this load-shedding?
“While Eskom seems to be playing politics over a crucial resource, businesses and, indeed, communities are left reeling from the consequences of these actions.
“It is about time this country adopts a mixed basket for energy generation.”
Mona said the chamber called on the government to ensure load-shedding was only a short-term measure.
“A reliable supply of electricity at competitive prices is crucial for businesses to remain sustainable.
“Failure to provide this could discourage potential investments that could bring job opportunities and growth for our people.”