Load shedding is hitting South Africans in their pockets. Home and business owners are spending thousands of rand on electricity alternatives to keep their businesses afloat and to ensure their lives are not too disrupted by the bouts of load shedding.
As the country plunged into darkness for the third consecutive weekend, items like generators, solar panels and gas lanterns sold out quickly.
Shafik Jacobs of Makro Ottery said on Sunday that they had had a flood of business and homeowners purchasing generators over the past days and were battling to keep up with the demand.
“We are currently sold out as of Saturday and the suppliers can’t keep up with the current demand for generators both big and small,” he said.
Prices at Makro range between R5 000 for a 2 500 watt generator and a R8 000 for a 5 000 watt one.
Jacobs said that Capetonians were also spending between R3 000 and R4 000 for solar panels and gas tanks to use for cooking.
“Rechargeable LED lights and gas lanterns are the best next thing for affordable lighting. The way it has been going we will be sold out on those as well by the end of the week,” he said.
Rechargeable LED lights cost between R300 and R450.
Solar Power Invertor suppliers like Schneider are flying additional stock into South Africa to keep up with demand.