People all over South Africa are moaning and complaining about Eskom’s “load shedding†that is now taking place on a daily basis in cities around the country. Be it at work where the power goes off suddenly and you’re left twiddling your thumbs for two hours (which in my experience, could be anything from 2-6 hours) because you cannot use your PC, or be it at home where you have to walk around with a torch strapped to your forehead just to avoid serious injury – nobody in South Africa can possibly be benefiting from these power cuts in any way, right? WRONG!
Who could possibly be benefiting from hours and hours of no electricity I hear you ask? One answer – people who sell generators of course!
“Generators for sale†has become the number one most popular search phrase entered on PriceCheck in recent weeks. It seems thousands of South Africans are fed-up with power cuts and have decided that a generator is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. I couldn’t agree more. With the amount of money I’ve spent on candles and batteries in recent times, I could probably already have bought myself 2 generators as well as a gas stove!
So, how much do they cost? Well, seeing as though they are in extremely high demand at the moment, prices have definitely increased. Suppliers are starting to struggle to keep up with demand and have the monopoly to be able to raise their prices. On PriceCheck, the price of an average power (5kw) generator ranges from anything between R 3500 to R 7000. More powerful 7.5kw generators are available from about R 8000 upward, however, a 5kw generator should be sufficient for the average household.
Buying and installing a generator is no easy task. It is recommended that you get an electrician to advise you on the type of generator that you require as an incorrect generator could cause permanent damage to the electrical goods in your house. I found an extremely informative link published on the Eskom website that provides some useful information about generators – selecting them, installing them and operating them. Click on the link below to check it out:
What a pity that the providers of electricity to our entire country have found the need to publish a link such as the above one, explaining the ins and outs of generators, however, it is an extremely helpful link and I give a little thumbs up to Eskom for taking the time to assist with one possible solution to the ongoing problem.
So do you go out and buy a generator, or do you continue to burn candles, eat tin-food and enjoy the sounds of silence that accompany regular blackouts? Well, the choice is yours. If you have a few extra Rand to spare then maybe it’s not a bad idea. Do expect to wait a couple days from the day you order a generator though, because as I mentioned before, they are in high demand and suppliers are struggling to keep up with orders.
Good luck with whichever option you decide to take and may we all remember to save electricity and do our part in avoiding load shedding around the country.
Click here to search for generators for sale and compare prices.
