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- In case of a national blackout, Netcare will offer some staff and their families shelter at its hospitals.
- This will help to keep staff on its premises to care for patients.
- Eleven Netcare hospitals have enough fuel and food to operate independently for three to four weeks.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Netcare is offering some of its staff and families shelter, in the "unlikely, but not impossible" event that South Africa's grid collapses, Netcare CEO Richard Friedland says.
Speaking at the Investment Forum 2023 event in Cape Town on Wednesday, Friedland said eleven hospitals in his group have enough fuel and food to operate independently for three to four weeks.
But he warned that government and companies must prepare for the reality that their employees' immediate priority will be their families in case of a total blackout.
Staff won't stay at their posts but head for ATMs to try and get cash and then go home, he predicts.
To mitigate this impact on its hospitals, Netcare has identified staff members who may be in a better position to stay behind, and will offer them and their families shelter and food.
"The difference between disaster and incident is preparation," says Friedland. With 1 500 patients on ventilators at any given time, "we can't afford a flicker", he added.
Eskom is currently using load shedding to prevent a national blackout.
READ | Nick Hedley | A total grid collapse would be a dystopian nightmare
There's a current shortfall in available electricity supply of between 4 000MW and 6 000MW. Cutting power to households and business keeps the supply and demand in balance, because when electricity demand exceeds the available supply by a dangerous margin, this makes the grid unstable.
When the grid becomes unstable, power stations automatically disconnect as a safety measure. A raft of disconnections can happen within seconds, quickly leaving the whole grid without any power generation.
Eskom estimates it will take weeks to restore the grid. This is because South Africa, unlike many other countries, cannot rely on neighbouring countries to generate sufficient electricity to allow it to restore its electricity system to operation swiftly.
Friedland expects Stage 5 load shedding to be a reality for the remainder of the year.
Netcare has been investing in renewable energy for a decade and has reduced its energy intensity by 35% in this time. Friedland estimates that the company has "avoided" R1.1 billion in electricity tariff payments.
He says South Africa needs more empowering legislation enabling municipalities to allow grid wheeling.
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The hospital group aims to be off the grid and carbon neutral by 2030. By 2025, 25% of the energy it uses will be carbon-free
Meanwhile, the cost of fueling generators has been increasing. Last year, Netcare spent R36 million on diesel for generators – in the first five months of the new financial year, it has already spent R50 million.
At the event, fellow panellist Montegray Capital's Michael Jordaan said South African companies who don't solve the current problems – including load shedding and water disruptions – wouldn't survive.
READ | All big local insurers pull grid failure cover as 'unprecedented' load shedding spooks reinsurers
"[This is] privatisation not by design, but by default," Jordaan noted.
Friedland expressed frustration about government's failure to allow it to train nurses at a greater scale, as it faces a major shortage of staff. It has been waiting for government accreditation to train thousands of nurses for more than four years.
The company has engaged with government through various channels, but has yet to succeed.
