WATCH: Farm dumps 12 000 litres of milk due to Eskom’s load shedding

A dairy farmer in KwaZulu-Natal was forced to dump a full day’s worth of milk due to the devastating load shedding imposed by Eskom.

Ross Stratford, a director at Stratford Farms in Mooi River, took to social media and shared the impact of load shedding on South Africans, especially farmers who rely on consistent electricity supply.

Thank you Eskom 3 contactors …2 motors and 12000 litres of milk poured down the drain… pic.twitter.com/PKVQq6x4qK

— Alan Stratford (@AlanStratford1) January 22, 2023

Sour milk

Stratford said issues with low voltage ultimately cost the farm 12,000 litres of milk.

Thank you Eskom for your Poor service….what a loss pic.twitter.com/1tHIID8Tda

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— Alan Stratford (@AlanStratford1) January 22, 2023

“Thank you, Eskom 3 contactors, 2 motors and 12 000 litres of milk poured down the drain. Thank you, Eskom for your Poor service., what a loss. Thank you, Eskom, when is enough enough,” tweeted Stratford.

Thank you Eskom when is enough enough …. pic.twitter.com/t4ItHyQZIw

— Alan Stratford (@AlanStratford1) January 22, 2023

Stratford also shared the pain of this milk supplier that had to dump milk because of load shedding.

Thank you Eskom…12000 litres of milk sour due to your poor service… pic.twitter.com/kLlRHQhY4W

— Alan Stratford (@AlanStratford1) January 22, 2023

“Bad bad news, my milk buyer also lost milk due to power issues, dumping milk. Uyafiwe indlalo sizolamba (we are going to be hungry, hunger is going to kill us).

Bad bad news…my milk buyer also lost milk due to power issues …. dumping milk . .uyafiwe indlalo …sizolamba pic.twitter.com/BAJ5Ij4ZmV

— Alan Stratford (@AlanStratford1) January 23, 2023

Impact

Households and businesses in South Africa are suffering under the devastating impact of load shedding with angry and frustrated citizens calling for an end to the deliberating power cuts.

The impact of load shedding has also had an effect on home appliances.  

South Africans have shared stories about having to buy new fridges, stoves, geysers and many other appliances and while the Nersa increase will be devastating to their already strained pockets, it cannot quantify what people have lost.

This is so true. My sister is 23, a waitress and her fridge succumbed to load shedding. How are the lower middle class supposed to live like this? Now they can't buy groceries in advance and are in a horrible cycle of loss.

— Die Marce (@_themarsian) January 23, 2023

ALSO READ: LISTEN: AfriForum to start own power company and save South Africans from Eskom

Eskom’s days numbered

Meanwhile, filing state-owned entity Eskom may soon have a competitor in AfriForum.

It is in the process of creating a pebble-bed reactor power station that is compact enough to fit on a truck and supply a whole city with reliable power for up to 40 years, the lobby group claims.

Speaking to The Citizen, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the pebble-bed reactor power station is a much broader solution to end load shedding.

“The fact is we came to realise that Eskom is not going to be able to provide electricity needed for the country in the future. One hopes that they will be able to recover, but it seems it’s not going to happen.”

The reactor will not be a quick fix but a start to addressing the power crisis faced by South Africans, Kriel said.

ALSO READ: South Africa is dying Mr. President, what are you doing about it?