Generators do roaring pre-World Cup trade in power-short SA (Feature)

By Clare Byrne May 15, 2010, 5:01 GMT

Johannesburg - Generator suppliers in South Africa are doing a roaring trade in the run-up to the World Cup as guesthouses and restaurants stock up on backup power to avoid falling victim to the blackouts that have plagued the country over the past two years.

State electricity supplier Eskom has assured that the lights will remain on during the month-long tournament.

The question arose after South African cities were plunged into darkness in January 2008 when demand outstripped supply, forcing Eskom to implement months of rationing, or 'loadshedding'.

Cash-strapped Eskom now keeps a tighter rein on demand, while it works to bring new generating capacity online. But power outages caused by poor maintenance and vandalism are still frequent. City Power, Johannesburg's electricity provider, which is supplied by Eskom, reported 122 unplanned outages in April.

The World Cup takes place in mid-winter, when demand for power is always tight.

As 200,000-plus foreign visitors count down the days to their arrival in South Africa, some hospitality providers who had been staving off buying a generator are caving in and buying backup.

Barloworld Power, southern Africa distributor for Caterpillar diesel generators, says it has had a 'phenomenal' response to a series of needling ads it began running in a national newspaper last week, asking: 'Are you leaving your soccer guests in the dark?'

The company received about 20 enquiries a day and has now run out of all its 260 generators, Barloworld's power rental manager Corrie du Plooy, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Barloworld's customers include some guesthouses that will accommodate journalists in the north-western city of Rustenburg, near where the Portuguese team will be based. The guesthouses wanted to ensure the journalists had the power to file stories on Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates.

Superwatt Global Power, a Cape Town-based company, whose customers include gold and uranium mines, has also experienced a surge in demand.

'We've definitely had a noticeable increase in business related to the World Cup,' Superwatt's managing director Patrick Gaertner, told dpa.

Restaurants, shops, petrol stations, catering companies had all come knocking for generators for continuous power solutions during the Cup.

The cheapest models start at 60,000 (7,792 dollars) to 80,000 rand (10, 389 dollars) for 30 to 40 kva (kilovolt amps).

Some smaller guesthouses, however, are still balking at the expense.

'They cost too much,' says Brenda Brand, manager of Room with a View, a 14-bedroom guesthouse in Johannesburg's touristy Melville district that is fully booked for the Cup.

'If the lights go out during a game, we'll take guests that want to watch the game on TV to the nearest sports bar. We asked them and they've all agreed to that,' she said.

Anyway, she says, the guesthouse, which is perched on a hill overlooking the city and uses gas for cooking and heating, would be 'very romantic' by candle light.

Fans who intend to catch the action up close need have no fear of the lights going out in the stadiums. All ten stadiums will run on generators as their primary source of power, with the national grid as a backup.