A mixture of Covid-19 restrictions and related subdued consumer behaviour and poor national grid electricity stability are impacting on small businesses' chances of survival, states South African Solar Photovoltaic Industry (SAPVIA) COO Niveshen Govender.

He notes, at a time when the national power utility Eskom has again been implementing load-shedding, that South Africa’s economic future depends on the lights staying on.

Because small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in the economy, Govender says there are important steps that can be taken to try and buffer these small companies from the effects of power interruptions.

He says that business property owners and property developers also have a role to play in helping their tenants keep their doors open, especially during the current economic climate, and should therefore look into providing backup power to tenants to bridge the gap when electricity interruptions take place.

“For the SMEs that own their own buildings they operate from, you will need to consider the following when upgrading to a photovoltaic (PV) system. You will need to decide on the type of rooftop PV system to install best suits your business,” says Govender.

AVAILABLE PV SYSTEMS

A grid-tied or connected solar PV system with reverse power blocking works by being connected to the national grid but blocks any excess electricity generated from a solar plant from feeding back into the grid.

Alternatively, a grid-tied or connected system without reverse power blocking will enable any surplus power to be fed into the national grid, which in some cases, is compensated for.

A purely off-grid or standalone system enables users to use and/or store all the power they produce and offers no ability to attain power from the grid, operating completely independent of it.

Grid-tied systems need to be registered and approved by the nearest distribution authority. Most municipalities that allow this have the necessary documentation on their website.

Further, Govender says it is important to verify that the solar system installer has adequate experience in PV installations and is a member of SAPVIA, the Electrical Contractors Association (ECASA) or the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), where required.

Once a solar PV installation is complete, the user will need to request an original electrical certificate of compliance and quality assurance certificates to safeguard against any damage or casualties and any guarantees.

A quality assurance certificate such as a PV GreenCard includes important information on the equipment used and technical details of the installation.

Solar PV users will also need to check their roofs for leaks in rooftop installation instances.

In terms of financing, SME business enabler service provider Lulalend CEO Trevor Gosling says access to adequate finance is also more important than ever before. “Previous episodes of load-shedding have demonstrated the importance of ensuring that SMEs have access to funding to prevent power interruptions to their operations.”

Responding to the need, Lulalend launched its SME Loadshedding Task Force in 2019 to prioritise applications and provide an almost instant response to businesses in crisis as a result of load-shedding.

Under normal circumstances, funding applications are processed within 24 hours. The emergency task force will however fast-track the process further for businesses that are severely affected by Eskom’s power interruptions.