An Investigation of The Effects of Load Shedding on the Performance of Small Scale Businesses-A Case of Lusaka Markets

Background: The aim of the research was to establish the effects of load shedding on small scale businesses in terms of productivity and profitability in Lusaka markets, it sought to explore other alternative sources of energy that can be used to mitigate the situation. Ultimately, the goal of the study was to integrate risk management techniques in the use of other alternative energy sources. The study mainly based on the Keynesian theory which offers useful insight to the understanding of the effect of government intervention in term of regulating the supply of electricity to the SMEs. Methodology: The research utilized a mixed methods approach. In-depth interviews were conducted and questionnaires were administered to small scale business owners in Lusaka markets. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze data for the study. Findings: The research findings disclosed that load shedding negatively affects the performance of small scale businesses through productivity and profitability. Furthermore, it was discovered that the only cheaper alternative energy sources that marketers are aware of is solar energy and the use of inverters. Despite their awareness, the results had shown that the business men and women face challenges in raising finance to effectively use them. Besides this, they lack knowledge of the other sources of energy that generate power. Additionally, it was found that there are risks that are associated with the use of alternative energy sources and political and social risks were ranked the highest. Conclusion and Recommendations: A number of recommendations were given of which one of them was that government should focus on diversification of the energy sector rather than rely on one source of energy production to ensure that load shedding is reduced. Furthermore the government should also provide a conducive environment for small businesses to thrive by creating policies that will enable them to access credit facilities to access cheaper alternative sources. Apart from this, government should also educate small business on other alternative sources of energy to enable them have a variety of coping strategies to mitigate the repercussions of load shedding. A risk register was formulated by the researcher to be adopted in Zambia in the use alternative sources of energy.