Goolam said this year it was likely that SA could see a subtraction to its GDP growth similar to 2022 if businesses don't ramp up their own electricity generation. But if they do, Ballim expects that even if load shedding gets worst this year, the economy won't be as hurt as in 2022.
He said by late last year, many big businesses, SMEs and households had realised that they needed more permanent solutions to cope with load shedding and that self-generation had to be the alternative. Battery imports in the country climbed from almost nothing in 2016 to around R500 million in 2020 and then a big jump to R3.3 billion last year.
"Yes, it will add to costs. It will erode margins, but in terms of production, I think it will help put some floor level on production," said Ballim.Ballim said he recognised that most South Africans could not afford to install self-generation capacity in their homes and small businesses. But there are solutions that have worked in the past to bridge the energy poverty gap between the rich and poor in SA.
Ballim said the tax strictures and public delivery contracts put in place to deliver solar geysers to the needy could be used again.Ballim said this level of self-generation was unlikely to even pose a structural threat to Eskom's revenues or the utility's sustainability as long as the government goes ahead with the restructuring of its debt.
_Business Duh