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It's bad enough that retailers have to usually close their doors during blackouts (and also suffer the attentions of opportunistic shoplifters), it is the fact that too often the blackouts occur when they are not supposed to - if the 'schedule' Eskom supplies is to be believed.
Times Live quotes Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Neren Rau as saying "the biggest problem for business is uncertainty."
All in all, it's bad news for retailers, most of which rely on the high(er) sales over the festive season to carry them through the slow first quarter of the following year.
Eskom declared a 'power emergency' late yesterday, requiring large industrial customers to "urgently reduce electricity usage by 10% from 3pm to 8pm".