The ICT industry is preparing to take on Eskom to address the rolling power-cuts it says are causing havoc.
Keith Anderson, president of the IT Association, says the feedback he is receiving from members is that the power shortages are becoming "not only disruptive, but crippling".
"We are anticipating that international contracts will be lost due to Eskom's inability to provide business with a reliable source of electricity," he says.
"We are having a board meeting this Thursday where we will discuss the way forward and how to take up the matter with Eskom. It is having a serious effect on equipment such as servers and telephony."
Adrian Schofield, a member of the Computer Society of SA's managing committee, says it is being guided by its members in how to approach the power-cut situation.
"The overall reaction from business has been as heavy as one can get," says Schofield, pointing out that IT users in sectors other than ICT would also be "complaining loud enough".
"I can foresee this being discussed at managing committee level in the next two weeks or so."
Schofield says the ICT sector can, meanwhile, interact with Eskom to help it manage its load-shedding better.
"With the technology available today, surely there must be ways of planning reductions on an efficient basis and better communicating when and where it is going to happen, so that business can plan ahead on a weekly basis."
Financial implications
Business Unity SA (BUSA) CEO Jerry Vilakazi says he has been receiving input from various stakeholders, including the ICT sector, on the impact the national electricity provider's load-shedding is having on them.
"ICT is a critical sector, especially in terms of SA's placing in the global arena where we are trying to attract the outsourcing of call centres and other services," says Vilakazi.
"The power outages will definitely have an impact on our growth targets and job creation, and we need a solution to make sure the economy continues for the next five years while the problem persists."
According to Vilakazi, BUSA is to meet with its affiliates on Wednesday in order to map out their strategy for Eskom and government. Afterwards, the body is to meet with the energy provider as a matter of urgency, as well as with government.
"We will probably interact with treasury as there are tax implications to these matters," says Vilakazi.
"We are being forced to spend money to stay afloat because of the Eskom monopoly's failure. We need government to indicate what it will do in terms of incentives for alternative initiatives from business."
Hidden agenda?
MarketWorks-Advisory CEO and business and technology and director Craig Terblanche says it is in industry's best interest to speak with one voice on the matter of power outages.
What's more, he says industry bodies should not go into meetings with Eskom or government having accepted that power outages will be a reality in the long-term.
"I suspect these outages are a bit of blackmail by Eskom to get government to give them more money," says Terblanche.
"There are various alternatives [available to Eskom]. In the last 18 months, SA has become a net importer of electricity and there are places we can import from that have excess capacity, so this really seems like strange tactics on Eskom's behalf."
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