CAPE TOWN - The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the new round of frequent load shedding gives businesses and municipalities no option but to look for alternative suppliers of electricity.
The chamber said the current energy crisis was hurting businesses, municipalities and Eskom, adding that businesses need electricity to survive. Chamber president Geoff Jacobs said Eskom desperately needed to sell more power to keep going but instead found its revenue decreasing. “The energy supply creates uncertainty for business and that has a bad knock-on effect for the economy. Businesses can’t plan [and] small businesses are at the mercy of unpredictable and uncertain energy supply.”“Government constantly says South Africa is open for business, as the chamber our big concern is that we can’t be open for business and then the lights are out. Our appeal is for government to get to the bottom of what’s going on at Eskom.
He said load shedding would also hurt struggling municipalities which rely on electricity income to subsidise their costs and keep their distribution systems, and rate-paying commercial and industrial firms going.