On the back of Stage 1 Eskom load shedding for January the schedules for the next following two months are also looking pretty bleak with 17 days of load shedding forecast for February and 16 in March, so now would be a good time to start preparing.
Short Term fixes include:
- Hire a generator from around R750.00 per day (fuel is more expensive than electricity)
- Buy a portable generator (petrol is cheaper than diesel) and effective generators start from around R6 000 for 2.2 KVA up to R45 000 for 15 KVA. Diesel Generators are around double the price per KVA than petrol generators.
- Buy candles – around R12.00 for six
- Install a Gas Hob – from R2 700.00 (Gas is more expensive than electricity)
- Have a braai
- Install rechargeable LED Lights from around R50.00 each
- Buy rechargeable LED torches from R50.00 each
- Buy a portable camping gas hob from around R500.00 – 9 kilogram gas cylinders cost around R700.00 each
- Buy a Skottel – around R600.00
- Gas lights for your cylinders cost around R200.00
- Or you could just enjoy the peace and quiet and play Candlelight Monopoly with the family at around R300.00
- Fill empty plastic cooldrink bottles with water and place them in your deep freeze. If the power is out for a long time you can take them out and put them in your fridge to keep food cold until the power comes back on. They will also help prevent your frozen meat from thawing.
- Always have stock of non-perishable food for those times when the neighbourhood fast food outlet is also in the dark.
- Make sure you have a car charger for your cellphone or tablets. This way you can always make sure your phone is charged when there’s no electricity.
Long Term fixes include:
- Buy a back-up generator – a 20 KVA Diesel Generator will set you back in the region of R140 000.00. You will still need to get an electrician to install the set. Then you will also need to feed it’s hungry maw with Diesel.
- Go independent and install a dual purpose Solar Panel installation with the best of both worlds – Grid Tie and Backup Batteries – this will power your home during load shedding AND zero your electricity bills (Nelson Mandela Bay ONLY). Depending upon your present consumption this option will cost in the region of R35 000 per Kilowatt of power required.
- Install Grid Tie solar only – you will be affected by load shedding but still enjoy the benefit of zero electricity bills.
- Supplement your solar panels with a wind turbine from around R20 000.
- Move yourself and your business to a country where there is no load shedding.
