The more severe load shedding becomes, the busier some businesses get. Picture: Emmanuel Ikwuegbu/Unsplash
Load shedding is undoubtedly crippling many South African businesses, but the shinier side to this coin reflects a boom in demand for the services of many professionals and their companies.
Constant power outages and the surges that follow the switching on of electricity not only see gate motors burning out and their batteries weakened, but plug points, DB boards, and electrical appliances blowing up.
And for each of these problems, there are solutions that come in the form of electrical professionals, new gate motors, and bigger, more expensive batteries.
Comparing some aspects of his business pre- and post-load shedding intensification, Simon Gore, owner of Gate Repair Services in Bryanston – a company that has been in business for almost four decades, says there has been a huge increase in demand for large gate motor batteries.
Two years ago, more or less, there was no need for his business to install any of these battery types. Now, however, he installs about 10 a week.
Explaining the difference between these batteries and regular gate motor batteries – as well as the impact that load shedding has on them, he says a normal battery would usually last about three to five years. But with load shedding, they need to be replaced, on average, every six months.
“Private households, complexes, and townhouses now need bigger batteries with bigger chargers, and these are more expensive. Each charger is stored in a big box that is mounted to the wall. You either have to go this route or keep replacing your batteries.”
Depending on the voltage, such systems can cost up to R8 000.
While it is therefore not surprising that demand for Gore’s business services has surged as a result of load shedding, what is unexpected is the fact that his business is not making more money.
“I have just had to spend R250 000 on a solar power system for our offices because we cannot have our operations on standby. We have had to increase our expenditure to meet the higher demand for our services, so we are actually making less money as a result of load shedding.
“If we get to a site and the power goes off for four hours, we need to have a generator in order to keep working. So we have had to buy two generators that go with two of our service vehicles to sites.”
On top of this financial outlay, the business has to obviously fund the costs of diesel to run the generators.
“Honestly, I would prefer to not have load shedding. We also need to have inverters in each of our vehicles because we cannot lose power when we are in the middle of drilling a hole.
“We used to have battery-operated drills but that approach was not working out well as people would forget to charge them; it just became more of a problem.”
If he had a choice between being as busy as he is due to load shedding, or have no load shedding at all, Gore would opt for the latter.
“We would actually make more money as a business because we now have to spend more on petrol to go out to service more sites, and buy diesel for our generators.”
And he is not alone with his experiences and preference for an end to load shedding. Chris Lubamba owner of CNA Electrical in Cape Town, which has been in business for 25 years, says that, from a financial point of view, business was actually better before load shedding.
“We had Covid, and then higher load shedding stages, and things just got worse. Yes, we are a little busier, but with smaller jobs...Most of our work is installing inverters as a result of load shedding, but it is not like this aspect is sustainable as putting in an inverter is a once-off job. Also, not everyone can afford to buy an inverter.”
If he had a choice, Lubamba would prefer to not have load shedding as it is “destroying us a lot”. His company is also missing out on work that was more readily available before load shedding worsened. This, he says, is due to the fact that many companies that he would do work for – including in the construction industry, are not able to work full hours due to load shedding.
He also states that, when completing electrical jobs within homes or businesses, the electricians need to check and test the systems or installations before customers pay them.
“But often, because of load shedding, we cannot do that. So we then have to go back later that day or the next day, and that is just more transport to sites which means using more petrol.”
Another challenge posed by power outages is that, when he gets call outs, he is sometimes delayed due to robots not working and resultant traffic congestion. By the time he is able to get to the client, someone else has taken the job.
And this is not all.
“If I have jobs booked for 40 hours – eight hours a day, five days a week, and then the power goes out for four hours a day, that is four hours of the day that we cannot work. So I have to buy five generators so that every team has a generator to allow them to use power tools.
“If I have guys on site for eight hours a day, but they are not working for four hours of that day, I cannot pay them for those hours. But they need the money so what we have to do is move them around to other sites while there is load shedding at the sites they are on. We then have to go back to those sites when the power comes back on, and that means more petrol.”
Load shedding, Lubamba says, is just causing more challenges for his business.
Ignatius Kitching, owner of Khanyile Kitching Electrical in Durban, however, has a slightly different experience of business since the increase in load shedding. He is experiencing a “massive uptick” in solar installations, so much so that this past January – a month that is usually quiet for business, was his busiest January ever.
“This is no surprise though, and will especially be the case now that the Government has introduced tax incentives for solar power installations.”
The whole situation, he says, is bittersweet as, although his business is benefiting from load shedding in terms of increased demand for solar installations, he is operating it in a very challenging economic environment. Plus, there are added problems of safety and security.
Asked then whether he would prefer to be operating his business with or without load shedding, Kitching says: “Business is better, we are making more money, and I am happy for the business; but I would rather be operating my business in an environment where there is more security, more enforcement of the laws, less crime, and less economic uncertainty...Our economy is struggling, our clients are suffering. There is too much instability.”
The issue then over whether he is grateful for load shedding in terms of his business boom, is a complex and multi-faceted one.
“Obviously I don’t want load shedding and would rather do without it. But I cannot say that we are not seeing some positives of it. If we were not having load shedding we would not be moving so quickly into renewable energy. Yes, it would have happened, but not as quickly as it is.”
While he has the opportunity, he is therefore “riding the wave”.
“I am investing more into my business but I am getting myself into a market where there is demand. I am setting myself up for better insulation of my business.
“Load shedding is going to be here for at least the next few years, and even if it was not, there would still be booming demand for solar energy.”
Ally Nezar, head of growth at Kandua.com – an online marketplace for home services, says the company often sees spikes in demand for certain repairs or services that are parallel to the severity of the load shedding.
“We’re seeing a substantial increase in repairs for appliances such as fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, televisions, and electric stoves due to fuses blowing from load shedding and power surges. We’re certainly seeing an increase in burned out motors such as electric gates that are reliant on back-up battery power, and a significant decrease in the lifespans of these devices due to overuse. This results in costly replacements that are putting further pressure on consumers.”
Professionals that provide solar power installations and other back-up energy solutions are “struggling to keep up with demand” for their services. And while she does not yet have comprehensive data for 2023, Nezar says statistics from 2022 show a 71% increase in requests for boreholes due to water supply issues, and a 60% rise in requests for solar power specialists. This is compared to the demand in 2021.
“A growing number of homeowners are seeking out ways to reduce their reliance on municipal services and secure their energy and water supplies, or embracing renewable resources.”
In the unlikely event that load shedding was suspended for a long period or even completely eradicated, she agrees with Kitching that the demand for off-grid and renewable energy and alternative water supplies would not come to a complete stop.
“While there may be a slight dip in demand, consumers are realising the pitfalls of relying solely on municipal service delivery, and are looking to implement sustainable and self-reliant alternative energy sources. Options such as solar energy will continue to be popular.”
IOL BUSINESS