The February Websites: Your Practical Guide To Surviving Blackouts
Regrettably it seems that loadshedding is going to be particularly bad in the next few months – have a look at all the “red” days in Eskom’s loadshedding calendar at http://www.fin24.com/Economy/LIVE-Eskom-state-of-the-system-briefing-20150115.
Here’s what you need to do -
- Prepare: Keep an eye on http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za/ and your municipality’s schedules - links at http://www.eskom.co.za/Pages/loadsheddingmunic.aspx (Cape Town - watch for new schedules from 1 February). But accept that you may get no warning, so in times of high risk, assume the worst – and prepare for it.
- Invest in a UPS: Protect your computers and other electrical equipment with an Uninterrupted Power Supply or two. Even if your insurance policy covers damage from the power surges which are often associated with outages (not all policies provide such cover – check with your broker), sudden unexpected computer shutdowns can result in significant loss/corruption of data as well as difficulties in re-booting.
- If you want to go further and buy a generator: Research your needs and the options thoroughly first. See Moneyweb’s “The Generator Generation” at http://www.moneyweb.co.za/moneyweb-south-africa/the-generator-generation.
- Make the best of it: Read Health 24’s “How to survive load shedding” http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Environmental-health/21st-century-life/How-to-survive-load-shedding-20140307 for some practical tips on making life in the dark bearable.
- Your taps may run dry: A side-effect of extensive blackouts is loss of pressure in municipal water supply – in some cases your taps will run dry altogether - because of reliance on booster and other electrical pumps. Have an alternative supply of water on hand!
- Keep your vehicles topped up: You don’t want to coast into your local service station on an empty tank only to find its pumps are out of action or that Eskom has bought up all the diesel.
- Check flight times: Refuelling issues at airports may cause significant flight delays.
Provided by Darrolls Attorneys, Notaries & Conveyancers
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