Load-shedding and the Liability towards Customers

on December 17 | in BUSINESSWISE | by admin | with No Comments

As load-shedding becomes a regular occurrence, businesses and property owners may be unable to pass the proverbial buck, writes Simon Colman (photo), Underwriting Executive at SHA Specialist Underwriters.

With the spate of load-shedding hitting the country, Eskom is being crucified as the sole accountable party as it is ultimately responsible for the provision of electricity. However, businesses and commercial property owners fail to realise the possible liability that may arise from these black-outs, which could be put upon their shoulders.

They may have to accept that due to the re-occurrence and subsequently, the foreseeability of these outages, it may be found that there may have been reasonable precautions that should have been taken to protect their own customers from losses and injuries.

Take for example the ‘The Elevator Model’. Businesses must adopt the worst case scenario from a risk perspective, assuming that they will be solely accountable for injuries and losses. “For example, an elevator should be designed in such a way that if the power fails, it does not crash to the ground. This “Elevator” thinking, is the way in which businesses and property owners operating in an erratic power environment should be dealing with risk.”

For example: shopping mall owners and managers should have contingency measurements in place to ensure that customers can safely evacuate their premises during a sudden black-out. Failure to ensure that walkways, steps, escalators, doors, parking facilities, fire escapes and other areas are well-lit (either by generator, solar or battery operated) and free from any obstruction may result in the property owner / business owner being found liable for any injury caused to a customer during evacuation.

As power outages become a part of everyday life, the time may come when a simple diversion of accountability to Eskom will no longer be acceptable to our courts. He points to alarm system manufacturers, restaurant owners, shopping malls and hospitals as specific examples of businesses that will need to put extra risk measurements in place to protect themselves from these types of liability claims in the future.

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