Germiston businesses take a knock from ongoing power crisis

The Germiston South area faces significant challenges because of prolonged power outages, raising concerns among local businesses about their viability.

The latest outage, which began on September 8, has left over 40 companies without power for nearly a month after a fire at a substation in the Dukathole informal settlement.

Illegal electrical connections are believed to have caused this incident, leaving businesses in a state of uncertainty.

The extended outage has severely disrupted operations for companies that rely on electricity, forcing many to halt production and lose clients.

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Business owners have expressed alarm, saying the ongoing outage could have catastrophic consequences for their operations.

Some have even had to cancel night shifts because they struggle to meet production demands without a steady power supply.

“We don’t want to lay off workers because this is not their fault, and we can’t just keep them at home.

“We’re finding tasks for them around the workshop, but if this situation continues, we might have to implement a no-work, no-pay policy, or worse, shut down completely,” said a concerned business owner.

Of the 11 businesses that spoke with the Germiston City News, only six reported having backup power. However, even those with generators cannot operate at full capacity because some machinery requires a stable power supply.

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As businesses struggle to cover expenses they can hardly afford, the costs associated with running generators have added financial strain.

Supreme Chicken, an affected company, said it incurs significant costs just to keep operations running.

With 400 employees and a 24/7 operation, the owner reported spending millions on diesel to maintain production and deal with costly repairs to damaged machinery.

“This has been challenging, and production has been affected, which, in turn, impacts our clients because we cannot deliver at full capacity,” the owner stated.

The repercussions of the outages extend beyond the businesses themselves.

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If these companies are forced to close, the livelihoods of workers and their families would be at stake. Marié Geerdink from Beyond Perfection Fabrication warned that the industry is on the brink of collapse

“In our competitive industry, if you can’t deliver, there’s always a company ready to take your place.

“Even loyal customers might need to seek new suppliers, which, ultimately, affects our ability to pay our workers,” Geerdink said.

She highlighted many employees’ deep connection with their jobs, saying most had been with their companies for over a decade.

“With over 600 workers in this area, if they are affected, entire families will suffer. The city is failing us as businesses,” she added.

Ward 35 Clr Ntuthuzelo Mpambani acknowledged the severe impact of the power outage on local businesses.

“The fire at the substation is not an isolated incident. The power infrastructure in Germiston has been vulnerable to illegal connections for years, a problem authorities have struggled to manage effectively,” he explained.

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Mpambani indicated that while the city is working on repairing the substation, there is a pressing need for stronger protections for critical infrastructure.

“There won’t be any businesses left in Germiston if this keeps happening. We cannot continue simply fixing and replacing the substation,” he stated.

This ongoing power crisis underscores the fragility of Germiston’s infrastructure and highlights the need for collaboration among authorities, businesses and communities to find sustainable solutions.

Until that happens, companies and their employees remain in limbo, anxiously awaiting the restoration of power and the return of their livelihoods.