A slowdown in Eskom’s electrification programme is choking small contractors and compounding the effects of a slowing economy, says one supplier to the power utility’s clients. Billy Neasham, CEO of electrical and lighting products distributor ARB Holdings, said on Friday that Eskom’s spending on the programme had been erratic. As a result, small electrical contractors are feeling the pressure from the slow implementation of the programme as well as low infrastructure spend in the construction, mining and manufacturing sectors. But Eskom moved quickly to deny there had been any slowdown, saying on Sunday that it has, in fact, ramped up the programme. ARB’s electrical business, which supplies materials used in the electrification of households and the distribution of power, directly felt the effect of the delayed implementation because contractors are its customers, Neasham said. "The contractors, who are our customers, are in limbo," he said. The pace of the programme has a direct b...
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