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The impact of the Jan / Feb 2008 power... No 6

Date Uploaded: June 10 2008 10:50


In response to the deterioration in the electricity supply situation in early 2008, the BER decided to include a number of special questions aimed at gauging the impact of the power outages during January and February on firms as part of its regular first quarter survey. Some of the interesting findings are: Sixty percent of respondents or three out of five held that the power outages had a negative impact on their turnover. Roughly two thirds of respondents reported fixed investment and employment plans to have remained unchanged, whilst a third have downscaled these due to the effects of the electricity crisis. A very small percentage of respondents have taken no steps in order to lower electricity usage or shift usage to non-peak demand periods. Respondents revealed that the additional costs due to unplanned outages will have an impact on selling prices as well as profitability.