BOCCIM bemoans effects of power outages
Isaac Pinielo | Tuesday May 12, 2015 13:23
Head of public affairs, marketing and communications at BOCCIM, Shiellah Moribame said load shedding undermines the daily operations of business activities.
“We are extremely concerned about its effects, especially on small to medium businesses. Such enterprises seldom have the resources to equip their businesses with alternative energy sources,” she said.
Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has embarked on a load control measure, effective this month, which has caused sporadic power outages across small businesses and households.
The outages have been caused by low generation capacity at the troubled Morupule B Power Station as well as supply challenges in South Africa, where Botswana normally gets the bulk of its power imports.
Domestic power consumers have also lambasted the BPC for implementing the Demand-Side Management (DSM) programme in the country recently.
Having been fully implemented since Monday last week, both businesses and individuals have experienced longer load-shedding episodes, which have had a devastating effect on the consumers.
The BPC is adamant that the demand-side management programme would encourage energy users to incorporate energy efficient design and reduce energy consumption and demand.
The DSM initiative involves the power utility remotely managing power usage that strictly limits households from using heaters or electrical stoves. The initiatives entail domestic and small business customers required to maintain loads within 10A (2300Watts) during peak periods (6-10am & 6-10pm).
Exceeding the set load limit will lead to automatic disconnection of power supply, which can only be restored after a period of one hour.
According to the BPC, the programme is being used as a first step when there is shortage of power so as to minimise load shedding and the strategy will only work whenever demand outstrips supply.
However, this has not gone down well with consumers in areas that have been affected by the load control measure. These areas include Gaborone, Francistown, Lobatse, Selibe-Phikwe and Jwaneng.
It is understood that since the implementation of the demand-side management programme, the corporation has been inundated with complaints from consumers.
Some customers indicated that apart from daily inconveniences, the power outages have caused long-term losses as it damages their electric appliances.
Selebogo Lekoko, a resident of Broadhurst said the power outages have caused serious damage to his television set, which has suddenly stopped working after the electricity was cut off. He indicated that he is in the process of lodging a formal complaint with the power utility.
Another consumer, Thabiso Motsewabeng said due to regular blackouts, on several days her family had gone to bed without supper because they could not cook since they use an electric stove. “When we switch on the computer, our power cuts so we had no option but to go to bed on an empty stomach because take-aways do not come cheap,” she said.
BPC spokesperson, Spencer Moreri said that load shedding is only implemented when there is a supply shortage. He asserted that consumers should minimise electrical appliance usage during peak hours (6am-10am and 6pm-10pm) to avoid their power being cut off.