Northern-suburbs small businesses fear for their livelihoods if Eskom hits them with more above-inflation electricity tariffs and sustained load-shedding.
Ronnie Bepari, of Porto Santo Fisheries and Takeaway in Parow, says he cannot afford a generator big enough to run his fryers. The takeaway in the arcade in Parow provides a livelihood for five staff and their families. If Eskom takes the country to Stage 8 load shedding, Mr Bepari fears he will have to close his businesses.
Stage 8 load shedding would see 8 000MW shed from the national grid and 14 hours a day without electricity.
Eskom says the likelihood of reaching Stage 8 is low. So far the highest has been Stage 6 in December. But it took the country by surprise, so much so that the load-shedding schedules for many municipalities, including Cape Town, did not include Stage 6.
However, Stage 8 is now loaded on the City of Cape Town’s website.
Charmain Mafongosi has a small hairdressing salon in Goodwood. Having the power go off when she’s styling someone’s hair isn’t good for business, and she’s losing customers. She can’t afford a generator big enough to keep her business open during load shedding.
Hussein Shamien, of Vasco Station Fisheries, says a generator to keep his small restaurant and takeaway going would cost about R350 000. He can’t afford that. He says they do not use gas because it ruins the taste of the food.
He is losing customers and hopes the government has a plan otherwise he says they are in big trouble.
Azmoodien Ganey, of Nu-Sight, an optometrist practice in Voortrekker Road, Parow, says they schedule appointments around load-shedding schedules, but most of their customers are walk-ins.
Basheera Ismail, the owner of Fehmi’s Hair Salon and Barber Shop in Highbury, said it had been difficult to turn her clients away with the recent power cuts and she had run at a loss during the festive season.
She added that with an increase in tariffs, she will have to put up her prices which will lead to the loss of customers.
“I am gatvol of Eskom. I cannot afford to buy a generator and I cannot afford to pay double the amount for electricity. It’s almost impossible and I refuse to pay for Eskom’s incompetence and mess-ups,” she said.
Fatimah Gil who runs Marino’s Fisheries in Milton Street, Kraaifontein, said she could not afford a generator and closed the shop during load shedding.
“I have considered buying gas fryers but what about my fresh fish in the deep freezers? Either way I will suffer a major loss,” she said.
Ms Gil said she had “shopped around” for generators but the cheapest one was R70 000, which she could not afford.
Northern News visited Builders Warehouse in Cape Gate who sold a wide variety of generators at prices ranging from R2 520 to R19 000.
Chris Layman, owner of VM Power, a generator shop in Joostenberg Vlakte, said generators were expensive and expensive to maintain.
“The amount of petrol used for a generator at one’s home to keep house appliances alive will cost more than electricity,” he said.
Goodwood Residents and Ratepayers Association chairman Faizel Petersen has shared energy expert Ted Blom’s appeal for mass public participation to influence Nersa’s decision on proposed tariff hikes.
Mr Petersen says the association does not feel an increase is justifiable give the harm load shedding has done to the country.
Mr Blom and the Energy Expert Coalition have set up a website https://eeco.co.za/eskoms-2018-19-rca-application/ (supported by Dear South Africa) which sends public comment directly to Nersa and also keeps a record of all participation.
Mr Blom will be presenting the public participation at the Nersa public hearings in each province, starting in Cape Town on Monday February 3.
In May 2019, at an investor conference in Johannesburg, President Cyril Ramaphosa told private-sector dignitaries that Eskom’s bloated workforce was at the heart of its problems.
Highbury Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association chairman, Edmund du Plooy, said Eskom has negatively impacted the country’s economy.
“Our local businesses, pensioners and those in the poorer communities are going to bear the brunt the most. Our people are already making ends meet, imagine what the increase of tariffs will do to them,” he said.
Eskom recorded a R20bn loss last year, and it has a debt pile in excess of R450bn. Late last year, it took the country to Stage 6 load shedding for the first time, signalling the deepening of the country’s electricity-supply crisis.
Eskom and Nersa squared off in the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday January 15. At the heart of the court challenge is
Eskom’s request to the court to review and set aside last year’s decision by Nersa refusing to grant the struggling power utility permission to impose a tariff hike on municipalities, which would increase electricity costs by up to 17 percent from March this year for the three financial years ending in 2021/2022.
In its court application Eskom argues that the alleged inadequate increase provided by Nersa presents a “ material risk of potential catastrophic consequences”, not only for the power utility but for the country.
Judgment was reserved and the court did not indicate when it will deliver a decision.
If Eskom’s application succeeds it could see electricity prices increase by 53% over the next three years, according to calculations by Nersa.