The devastating economic consequences of load-shedding, including its crippling effects on small businesses and agriculture, are well documented. But the outages are also causing havoc when it comes to people’s personal security.
Households are often left vulnerable during the power cuts because the batteries of their alarm systems are often not being given enough time to recharge between outages.
The inconvenience of sitting in the dark while trying to prepare supper or help your child do homework has become the norm for many people, but the heightened security risk is most concerning.
Dealing with the threat has become an extra expense many people did not budget for in the new year.
In Walmer, a couple was recently targeted by robbers in their home during a bout of load-shedding before dawn.
Fortunately, perhaps, they slept through the ordeal and were not harmed.
It was only when they woke up to find electronics items, including a cellphone, missing that they realised what had happened.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s four main security companies have confirmed that crime is increasing during bouts of load-shedding or prolonged power outages.
Load-shedding schedules are widely available and criminals are armed with information on when the electricity supply to each corner of the city will be cut.
City Wide Security has warned that opportunistic bandits tend to strike in the final 15 to 20 minutes before the power is due to come back on because alarm batteries have probably run flat by then.
In addition, when a battery fails, the alarm will often trigger.
According to City Wide’s owner, Stephen Moore, if you don’t fix the problem, a house whose alarm goes off every time there’s load-shedding will draw unwanted attention.
In addition to a rise in the number of break-ins, thefts and trespassing recorded during the outages, security assets such as power cables and electric fencing are also being plundered, leaving homes and businesses even more vulnerable.
Representatives of the security firms canvassed agreed that the backup batteries meant to power alarms systems during electricity outages were not built to withstand the sheer volume of power outages now being experienced.
Fidelity Services Group’s head of communication, Charnel Hattingh, said most systems functioned normally under Stage 1 load-shedding, but the implementation of higher stages meant batteries did not have enough time to fully recharge between outages.
The onus is now on homeowners to replace their alarm system batteries, fix electrical fencing that has been cut during load-shedding, and invest in inverters to ensure security and other systems are able to operate despite the outages.
All this comes at great cost, which very few people can afford.
HeraldLIVE