Load shedding boosts suppliers of alternative energy sources

PRETORIA: Business has improved for suppliers of alternative sources of energy as a result of Eskom’s load shedding.

A snap survey by Cape Times sister paper the Pretoria News has shown that some business organisations have experienced a boom in sales of items such as generators, gas implements and solar products as frustrated residents are forced to resort to alternative forms of energy.

Eskom has so far exercised stage one and two of load shedding, with homesteads and companies going without electricity for up to two hours at a time.

Depending on affordability, people have been buying products ranging from those that provide only basic lighting to those that can cater for all their day-to-day power needs.

According to a Makro official, who did not want to be named, sales of generators top the list of alternative power sources being bought. They are closely followed by solar systems.

Builders Warehouse official Lungile Mdlete also said generators were selling faster than any other alternative source of energy, especially the Grit 7.5 and 6.5 models, mainly used in households or small businesses.

However, while retail outlets for alternative power sources are smiling all the way to the bank, the situation is bleak for those in production as load shedding means they cannot operate at full capacity.

Juan Taljaard, the owner of Wilde Beest, a trailer-making company in Rietfontein, told the Pretoria News he would consider retrenching some of his workers if load shedding continued. Considering the number of workers he has, he said, two hours of load shedding amounts to major losses for his company.

He has now resorted to importing some of his supplies to keep his company afloat because his small-capacity generator cannot sustain his heavy machinery and he cannot afford a bigger one.

Marius Croucamp, Solidarity Union’s head of communications, said firms have endured lower production rates due to the unpredictable power supply. He said the problem was worsened by the fact that Eskom did not always stick to its own schedules.

He said the unreliability of Eskom’s power supply meant that smaller companies that could not afford generators suffered economically. This had a ripple effect and eventually affected the whole economy.

According to Croucamp, load shedding had led to higher unemployment.

Paul Jordaan, an employee at Plastilon, a company selling plastic products, said their retail store relies on electricity mainly for lighting and for their computerised tills. He said they suffered losses when two savers and their globes were damaged due to load shedding, but said their losses were not as bad as those suffered by manufacturing companies.

Their generator quickly kicks in to support their small electricity supply needs, but they have to manually write down all the products sold while their servers are down. In some cases, he said, they lose important information like e-mails after the servers restart, affecting their orders.

Pretoria resident Thulani Mahlangu said solar panels were very expensive for the average South African like himself.

Another Pretoria resident, Martha Mhlanga, said her financial situation was so tight she could not even afford a primus stove.