Durban - While load shedding continues to be a heavy burden on most people in the country, more and more citizens are moving towards alternative energy solutions to counter the challenge.
This is amid energy experts warning of the prospects of load shedding that is beyond stage 8, in the months to come. According to Tankiso Moshoeshoe, 28, from Umzimkhulu, load shedding, like for many others, has been devastating.
“Load shedding has done tremendous damage. The constant on and off has caused so much damage at home as the electricity returns with a high currency, causing our appliances to blow. We have had to repair our fridges, television and lights more than twice now. Plus, the heat wave and the lack of electricity makes for a terrible combination.
We come from a festive season, our fridges are full of meat and on the other hand there is load shedding, spoiling all our food,” she said. Fortunately for her family, her father bought a generator three years ago, which is used primarily for keeping on the fridge, television and lights on during load shedding.
They made the purchase following a great storm in their area, and the power utility’s failure to ensure that the issue was addressed. They were also forced to buy the generator as it was during the Christmas period, and their food items were beginning to spoil. She said that it was still affordable.
“I think it was still affordable when we got it, it was around R6000 to R7000, but a friend of mine told me they now cost around R13000 and I was shocked and grateful we got it earlier. I think we will need to have it serviced now because it has worked for almost the whole of the festive season to date,” said Moshoeshoe.
She added that although the generator had come in handy, more permanent solutions were desired. “I am so angry – I feel like we need a national shutdown, everyone must shut the country and not do anything so that the useless government can see we can’t operate without power.
A lot of businesses are suffering and nobody really cares! I don’t know what is wrong with our generation, everyone is good at complaining online but not even a single person has initiated that we strike against this ridiculousness,” she said.
Craig Perelson, 38, a resident of Ballito said that load shedding had made it difficult to cope. It affected everyone’s basic lifestyle which is to cook, have water and keep cool in their homes.
Since load shedding became a permanent feature, he has countered it through the purchase of a trolley-based inverter, which he described as the “cheapest option to take a little bit of the frustration away from having to deal with load shedding.”
Trolley inverters start at R5000 and go up to R40000. Depends on the size you buy which determines how much of a load you can put on it and how long it will last,” he said.
The inverter allows him to access the internet, keep the lights, computer, alarm system and fan on, while also charging battery powered devices. Perelson said that the ideal solution would be for the government to allow the private sector to contribute to the grid.
Meanwhile, the Department of Small Business Development has committed itself to working towards energy relief packages for the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) with stakeholders, as a means to alleviate the impact of the power shed on small businesses.
The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) have been instructed by Minister Stella Ndabeni to collaborate with different stakeholders to formulate an energy relief package.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE