Load shedding could mean dark times for local business

THE Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be producing a formal report and proposal to government regarding the effects of load shedding on the economy.

According to Durban Chamber CEO, Dumile Cele, the disruptive effects of load shedding on the Durban economy are becoming increasingly evident to the private sector. Lost productivity, disgruntled staff and customers and failed deliveries are just some of the costs incurred by the private sector.

Cele said while the Durban Chamber understands the necessity to load shed in order to prevent a potential national blackout, she believes there is scope for the private sector to develop solutions, albeit in the short term, to help survive the crisis.

As a result Cele called an ‘energy crisis’ meeting at the Durban Chamber on Friday, during which businesses were encouraged to share their feelings regarding the effects that load shedding have had on local businesses.

The outcomes of this meeting will be used to engage with the already existing platforms which are available from eThekwini Municipality and Eskom.

The general feedback from the meeting was that there were significant financial costs associated with downtime as a direct result of load shedding. Some smaller companies reported their inability to make the contingency plan of purchasing generators, as the cost was extremely prohibitive, while larger companies expressed concerns about not being able to manage their large workforces.

In general, the companies highlighted the additional costs incurred from load shedding, which include damaged electronics and machinery, spoilage and delays in transport.

Exporters raised concerns about not being able to meet long-standing international orders, and feared that their inability to deliver would jeopardise their relationships with their international clientele.

Regarding the load shedding schedule, many of the companies reported that while the two-hour load shedding was disruptive, it was the extension of this load shedding, outside of the allocated time, which was their biggest concern.

The general consensus was that the municipality needed to communicate accurate information to businesses about the load shedding schedule.

It was also suggested that member companies enter into an agreement with the municipality to enact voluntary load shedding, where a specific area would experience load shedding for eight hours at a time, twice a week, and thereafter there would be no load shedding.

Berea Mail spoke to local businesses to find out how they were affected by load shedding.

Tracy Williamson, general manager of the Musgrave Centre, said to keep businesses operating tenants were having to incur extra expenses to install back-up systems, or they were forced to close and lose business.

“The landlord incurs additional expenses to keep generators running and replacing equipment which may have blown as a result of the outages. Downtime has adverse effects on business performance, which in turn has a negative effect on an already stressed economy,” she said.

Dave Rabie from Umbilo Vet said his business was definitely negatively affected by load shedding.

“We use a generator to run the basics, but the failure of Eskom to keep to their schedule causes confusion. We are also unable to take X-rays or do blood tests during load shedding. Damage to sensitive electronic equipment is also an issue, as many machines (such as those for blood chemistry) are meant to run continuously,” he said.

A restaurant owner in Florida Road said the business had a generator, and therefore load shedding itself did not affect them directly. However, the fuel and maintenance of the generator was fairly expensive.

“We are also experiencing a spike in equipment failure. In fairness, the hot weather may be contributing to the equipment failure, mainly fridges, but, intuitively, it feels excessive,” said Mike Holland from Europa.

Business owner, Nicky Scott, from Delish in Umbilo said Eskom did seem to stick to the schedule but it had still affected business.

“We are off from 4pm to 6.30pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and we then cannot use the till or the card machine. We have no choice but to close up shop for that period. This really affects us small businesses who are just trying to make ends meet. We try to make the best of a bad situation though. There is really not much more we can do,” she said.

The Durban Chamber will reconvene the meeting in two weeks to finalise the mandate from its members to address the municipality and Eskom.