JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – South Africans' frustration over power outages has turned to worry, with business owners complaining that a protracted energy crisis with no end in sight is eating into profits and hampering economic activity.
At Native Rebels, a colorful second-floor bar adjoining a large balcony in Johannesburg's Soweto district, the co-owner says the cost of running a generator to keep the lights on for weeks on end is a huge burden. said Masechaba Nonyane. AFP.
“We thought coronavirus was bad, but now it has been replaced with an eight-hour power outage,” said the 33-year-old entrepreneur.
“It was really, really bad,” she added.
Rolling blackouts, locally known as load shedding, have been a burden on the country for years, but have recently reached new extremes.
The country has endured Stage 6 load shedding for almost two weeks this month, which involves power outages lasting two to four hours multiple times a day.
The government estimates that each of the up to eight levels of load shedding will cost the country's economy an additional R500 million (US$29 million) in lost activity per day.
The crisis was further exacerbated by labor unrest at monopoly power company Eskom's coal-fired power plants.
The dispute was resolved earlier this month after Eskom agreed to pay increases for striking workers, but power outages have yet to be significantly eased.
“Load reduction will lead to further job losses, which will lead to lower production. That will affect spending. That will further impact economic growth,” said Ismail, senior lecturer in economics at the University of the Witwatersrand.・Fasaniyah said.
Businesses have to invest in generators, increasing the cost of running a business, which risks deterring local entrepreneurs and foreign investors looking to start new businesses, Fasaniya said. said.
He said the impact on employment was of particular concern in a country facing a 34.5% unemployment rate due to the coronavirus pandemic.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is under pressure to resolve the issue, spoke at the South African Communist Party Congress on Friday and said he would soon announce measures to address the crisis. Although details were unclear, the president said one solution could be to create another national power company to compete with Eskom, which currently generates more than 90% of the country's energy.
“We need to use every means possible and remove all regulatory hurdles to get additional power onto the grid as quickly as possible,” Ramaphosa said.
Energy experts and even debt-ridden Eskom are calling for rapid government investment in renewable energy, particularly solar power, as the best option to rapidly expand energy production.
“It will go a long way in (supporting) small and medium-sized enterprises and reducing job losses,” Fasaniya said.
In May, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe told parliament that while renewable energy procurement was planned, gas, coal and nuclear projects were also being planned.
It remains to be seen whether these measures will come quickly enough to prevent businesses from closing.
In Soweto, restaurant owner Nonyane said he was already having his staff close early on slow nights to reduce diesel consumption.
