- Title: Small business owners count the cost of South Africa's power cuts
- Date: 11th December 2019
- Summary: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (DECEMBER 10, 2019) (REUTERS) DR. AZAR JAMMINE, CHIEF ECONOMIST AND DIRECTOR AT ECONOMETRIX, SPEAKING DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) DR. AZAR JAMMINE, CHIEF ECONOMIST AND DIRECTOR AT ECONOMETRIX, SAYING; "This load shedding will have a dampening effect, could well cause the economy to register an official recession, but will not cause the economy to collapse. What is concerning though, is the fact that this stage of load shedding was not anticipated at all." VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS WITHOUT POWER GENERATOR OPERATING SMOKING RISING FROM GENERATOR PIPE CAR PARKED OUTSIDE SHOPPING CENTRE OWNER CLOSING BAKERY DOORS BAKERY DOOR SHOWING "CLOSED" SIGN VARIOUS OF INTERIORS OF BAKERY IN THE DARK BAKERY OWNER, MAIKE VANDEREYDT-SPEER, PLACING BREAD ON SHELF (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAIKE VANDEREYDT-SPEER, OWNER OF BLACK FOREST BAKERY, SAYING; "This specific business is affected because it cannot serve coffee, cannot serve any warm beverages in the morning, especially in the mornings. And also, we also have fridges here, so you know if it takes longer - load shedding takes longer, after four hours, you have to be careful, especially on a hot day. So, coffees and teas are affected. We lose about up to a thousand rand every morning, if it happens in the morning, even afternoons people want their warm beverages, we can't make toasted cheeses, we can't use any of those devices either." JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (DECEMBER 11, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BAKER MAKING BREAD / MACHINES MAKING DOUGH VARIOUS OF BAKER KNEADING DOUGH / PLACING DOUGH IN OVEN OVEN THERMOSTAT LOAVES OF BREAD IN OVEN VARIOUS OF BAKER REMOVING BREAD FROM OVEN / BREAD ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAIKE VANDEREYDT-SPEER, OWNER OF BLACK FOREST BAKERY, SAYING; "We don't know what the future will bring but it's, it's, very daunting for any business, especially if you are dependent on power as we are. Running big ovens, running fridges, freezers, machinery that you know, has to knead the dough. Everything works on electricity, I mean that's just the fact. So, we cannot live without it, bottom line. So, we, you know, it's will be a daunting task that lies ahead." VARIOUS OF BAKER REMOVING BREAD FROM TRAYS
- Embargoed: 25th December 2019 11:37
- Keywords: Floods Johannesburg South Africa blackout
- Location: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA
- City: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA
- Country: South Africa
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Floods
- Reuters ID: LVA003B9J8EVB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PART QUALITY AS INCOMING
When South Africa suffered unprecedented power cuts this week as flooding slashed thousands of megawatts off an overstretched grid on Tuesday (December 10), bakery owner Maike Vandereydt-Speer was unable to brew coffee, toast sandwiches or even switch on the lights.
One of her two bakeries already has a generator -- which costs at least 3,000 rand ($200) a day to run -- but she had balked at the cost of installing one at the Black Forest bakery in the leafy Johannesburg suburb of Parkmore. Now she is considering it.
"We don't know what the future will bring but it's, it's, very daunting for any business, especially if you are dependent on power as we are," she told Reuters.
Vandereydt-Speer said she loses 1,000 rand a day when there are power cuts.
Economic fallout from the power blackouts is widespread with large-scale mining companies shutting down across South Africa on Monday (December 9), but they are better placed to weather the storm than more fragile smaller businesses.
A week of floods has aggravated problems at state-owned utility Eskom, which has been struggling to keep the lights on since 2008, triggering unprecedented levels of planned power cuts known locally as 'load shedding'.
(Production: Siyabonga Sishi, Onke, Ngcuka, Chiara Rodriquez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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