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Every time the electricity goes off in my area, I hear a nearby neighbour’s alarm system go off.

It lets me know that the Eskom load has officially shat – sorry, shed – and then I begin to wonder anew how vulnerable that makes our homes in the dark.

It has probably crossed your mind, too, that opportunistic criminals are thinking about how easily they could break into your home during a power outage.

Unfortunately, a lot of what keeps us safe these days depends on electricity, like alarm systems, security cameras, motorised gates, and electric fencing.

When they are rendered inoperable because of whatever load shedding stage Eskom has decided on, we’re left in the dark clutching our purses and other valuables.

BusinessTech has confirmed that load shedding is indeed a crime risk, as well as a major inconvenience:

Insurer Dialdirect said it has compared the number of burglary incidents and the number of vehicle accidents when there is no load shedding to when there is from July 2019 to May 2022 and found that during the week, load shedding resulted in a 3.2% increase in burglaries and a 5.2% increase in vehicle accidents.

Over the weekend, these figures more than double, increasing the risk of break-ins by 8% and that of vehicle accidents by 13.5%

The robots also go out of service when there’s no electricity, which puts us in super defence mode (hopefully), tentatively approaching the four-way stop and wondering whose turn is next.

On the home front, insurance makes the alarm system not working during a power cut thing a little complicated:

“Most insurance policies stipulate in their contracts that the house alarm must be activated at all times when the home is unoccupied. So, if your house is burgled during a power cut, then, theoretically, your theft-related cover would be moot,” Retief said.

“We believe that load shedding is beyond the control of our customers, and therefore, they should not be penalised for it. As such, each case will be considered based on its own merits.”

There have also been community policing forums reporting an increase in housebreakings, cable theft, and generator theft during load shedding.

Per News24, Santam, the country’s biggest short-term insurer, has also established that the lights being out has pushed up the number of burglaries and car accidents.

The best thing to do with this knowledge is to prepare thoroughly.

That means knowing your area’s load shedding timetable, setting up battery or solar-powered lights, and using backup batteries to keep the important things going when Eskom decides to strike again.

Good luck out there.

[sources:businesstech&news24]