Loadshedding will cost Western Cape economy R150m daily
CAPE TOWN – Stage 2 load shedding announced by Eskom on Wednesday would cost the Western Cape economy R150 million per day, according to the province’s finance and economic opportunities MEC David Maynier.
“The fact is that the load shedding announced by Eskom today will damage the economy in the Western Cape. The impact of load shedding is currently estimated to be R75 million per stage, per day, for the Western Cape,” he said via a statement.
The power utility announced that stage 2 load shedding would be implemented from 9am to 11pm due to a shortage of capacity.
Maynier said the Western Cape government had taken a number of actions to mitigate the impact of load shedding on the provincial economy and build energy resilience. Despite this, the cost remained high, particularly for manufacturing.
“We also can’t ignore the impact of load shedding on households, small businesses and agriculture, for example, which are forced to invest in alternative powers sources to build their resilience against energy failures.
Source: iol.co.za