The reprieve of 100 days of no load shedding has been welcomed by the business community.
South Africa reached 100 days without experiencing scheduled load shedding. It’s a far cry from the persistent Stage 4 and intermittent Stage 6 load shedding blackouts South Africans had gotten used to in the past few years.
But improvement has been gradual, with load shedding blackouts scheduled mainly outside of business hours in the past year to ensure the economy functions.
Melanie Veness, the chief executive of the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business said that they were grateful for the reprieve from load shedding, which has been damaging to the economy.
While Cobus Oelofse, CEO of iLembe Chamber of Commerce expects that the stable power supply will have prospective and current investors feeling more secure and confident.
According to Oelofse, the reprieve from load shedding would have benefited the productivity and efficiency of businesses while allowing them to save money on alternative power sources.
“The operational stability that results from being able to conduct business without interruptions would have an impact on productivity and efficiency, apart from the cost benefits associated with not being reliant on alternative power sources, and their fuel and maintenance,” Oelofse said.
Veness said that no load shedding means that local businesses can compete more fairly with their competitors globally, as well as any other business in the country.
Oelofse said that even in economic nodes where there was scheduled load curtailment, the operational impact of load shedding was reduced.
“Employee morale would be positively impacted because working hours are being optimised without any impact on wages due to hours lost,” Oelofse said.
Looking ahead, Oelofse said that business is hopeful.
However, they also require reassurance and confidence that generation and supply has stabilised to the extent that operational and strategic planning can be based on the scenario of the last 100 days.
“The business community in iLembe trusts that such re-assurance can be provided with certainty by the national government,“ Oelofse said.
“Long may the reprieve from load shedding last,” Veness concluded.
IOL Business