Investec private banking clients may find some reprieve from Eskom’s shenanigans soon. The bank plans to offer them funding to install solar and battery power backup systems in their homes, Bloomberg reports.
South Africa is regularly affected by rolling blackouts across all territories due to a failing state electricity grid. The only way to effectively avoid power cuts, is by investing a lot of cash into a backup electricity system, like batteries, a generator or solar installations.
Investec playing the green card
Investec’s offering follows a trial that included around one thousand South African customers. If a customer is interested, they’ll have the ability to take advantage of any unused home loan facilities or apply for a re-advancement of loan funds to fund the backup installation. These can cost upwards of R100,000 depending on the setup – because as we all know, solar ain’t cheap.
“We are planning on giving our clients access to multiple providers and exclusive solutions,” Investec says, according to Bloomberg.
“We can help clients with a range of needs.”
The bank’s programme is supposed to aid in its commitment to “net zero direct carbon emissions”. We know that’s not the only reason. Investec is still only offering its customers additional debt, which will quickly turn into revenue for the bank. But it’s nice to have the option to apply for a loan specifically to ensure your house has a backup power system.
Source: TechCentral