‘SA’s power shortage will last at least a decade’

ED RICHARDSON
BUSINESSES IN South Africa will have to start taking control of their own electrical power supply, as blackouts are expected for the next 10 years at least. In the second week of February 2007, Business Report reported on a confidential report by the Department of Public Enterprises which discussed the state of the country’s electricity market. The report found that the “national [electricity] supply/demand balance was likely to remain tenuous during the next few years”. This means that businesses in South Africa will now have to start taking proactive measures to guard themselves against potential crises that could be posed by blackouts. Jack Tarr, the owner of Energy Reducing Technologies, an energy management and power quality company based in Port Elizabeth, says that companies need to prioritise items needing power and the length of time needed during power cuts. “A small Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) may be all you need to keep the crucial computer, cash till or emergency lighting powered,” says Tarr.