4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    The Impact of Loadshedding on the Mental Health of Small Business Owners in the Alexandra Township
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Tladi, Lesedi Mosenngwe; Marchetti-Mercer, Maria
    South Africa is currently experiencing an electricity crisis which is slowly progressing to unmanageable levels as a result of ongoing loadshedding. Loadshedding has become a part of everyday life, and it affects all aspects of people’s lives including their mental health. Numerous studies address the economic impact of loadshedding, while the mental health impact is often neglected. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of loadshedding on the mental health of small business owners in the Alexandra township. Eight small business owners from Alexandra township were interviewed with the use of semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that loadshedding affects the experiences of small business owners and their mental health negatively. Small business owners face several challenges including operational, economic, and psychological challenges as a result of the ongoing electricity disruptions. Loadshedding extends beyond hampering the financial stability of small business owners, it also affects their families and employees. There was evidence of stress, anxiety, and feelings of helplessness impacting participants’ psychological and personal well-being. Ultimately the larger township community has also been negatively impacted by the ongoing energy crisis. Moreover, there was perceived government accountability for loadshedding.
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    Loadshedding challenges and adoption of ICT solutions by SMEs in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Masilela, Senzi Michael; Msimango-Galawe, Jabulile
    Small and medium-sized enterprises are regarded as important contributors to improving the employment rate in South Africa. Unfortunately, loadshedding is severely affecting enterprises across different industry verticals. ICT is one of the enablers of collaboration, improved business processes, production and so forth. Companies rely on electricity as it underpins and enables the continuous running of business operations. Primary data was collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews that were conducted with participants in the ICT space in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Majority of the participants who took part in the study work for organisations in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. The collected data was analysed through thematic analysis where similarities were drawn, and suggestions put forward. It was discovered that some organisations run their IT services from physical hardware hosted on-premises while some are evolving and have since adopted newer ways of running IT services. Organisations running IT from on premises had to put down standby power generators and UPS systems to make sure that they are not negatively affected by loadshedding. Most smaller companies unfortunately were not able to afford backup power solutions because of them being so exorbitant from a cost perspective. Due to loadshedding challenges, some moved their infrastructure to third-party data centres and ran them remotely from there. Some have fully migrated to cloud computing
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    Assessment of the impact of load shedding on the households of Alexandra, Johannesburg, South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mbatha, Cebolethu; Kubanza, Nzalalemba Serge
    In South Africa, persistent challenges in the electricity sector have been noted. This study emphasizes that having access to electricity is insufficient; the reliability of its supply is crucial,especially given prolonged power outages faced by a significant portion of the population. In Alexandra Township at two residential areas, 16th Avenue and East Bank, the research used a mixed-method approach, involving questionnaires for 100 households and 20 local businesses, and semi-structured interviews with representatives from the local city authority. Results indicated substantial disruptions to daily lives and operations. These disruptions adversely affected critical social services, hindering operations in essential infrastructures like water supply systems, hospitals, education institutions, and telecommunication systems. The study identifies illegal electricity connections, infrastructure loss, and political interference as perceived major causes of successive power outages in Alexandra. It highlights the worsening nature of load shedding, making it a significant political issue in South Africa, reflecting hardships households and businesses face. The paper recommends governmental subsidies for alternative energy appliances and more favorable electricity tariff rates for households and small businesses to alleviate demand during peak periods. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and the South African electricity utility in analyzing trade-offs between negative welfare effects and costs of reducing power outages
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    Grid-tied renewable energy solutions for the residential customers in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Munyai, Vhuhwavho
    South Africa is experiencing electricity shortage crisis that is causing loadshedding. The electricity shortage crisis has been going on for almost fourteen years without a successful solution. Loadshedding has become a common occurrence and it is moving from bad to worse. The electricity crisis is caused by various factors. The slow and delayed implementation of energy policy by the government. The overdue new build programme that has been running for nearly fifteen years that included the recommission of previously mothballed coal-fired power stations such as Camden, Grootvlei and Komati and building of new power stations Medupi, Kusile and Ingula, and the aging and poorly maintained Eskom power stations. This business venture proposes a grid-tied residential renewable energy system (RRES) to address the electricity shortage crisis for residential customers in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa. The grid-tied residential renewable energy system is an innovative renewable energy power system that will generate electricity for the residential customers and is fused with fourth industrial technologies to create great customer experience. Internet of things technology will be used to monitor and control all the appliances, entertainment systems, lighting and security system remotely in the homes of the customers. Artificial intelligence technology will be used to automate data analysis and visualisation for the customer generation and consumption data for their homes. RRES aims to disrupt the traditional way of supplying electricity and avoid loadshedding for residential customer. The business venture research aims to quantify the demand for RRES to determine the business venture viability. It seeks to understand and identify determinants that motivate or hinder individuals from purchasing and installing the RRES. Given that there has been low adoption rate of renewable energy systems in South Africa. The outcome from the study will inform the development of business venture, on how to address the low adoption rate of renewable energy systems by residential customers and create a business venture that is aligned to the customer’s demand and needs. Furthermore, it targets to develop a business venture that would survive for long and launch efficiently to the market. In order to determine the viability of the business opportunity and gain insights on key drivers and barriers that influence the purchasing and installing of RRES, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted involving 321 respondents from Midrand. The survey questions were based on the persuasion attributes of the Roger’s theory of innovation diffusion. The survey showed that there is a huge demand in Midrand with 85% of participants interested in purchasing and installing RRES. Financial projections analysis also showed that the business venture is viable, as the company will be profitable and has a positive net present value (NPV)