South Africa’s more than 300-year-old wine industry has been badly hit, with load shedding impacting all stages of production, from irrigation to bottling.The wine industry contributed more than R55 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product last year, with exports worth R10 billion.In a picturesque valley two hours’ drive southeast of Cape Town, Berene Sauls is running way behind schedule.
Decades of underinvestment in dilapidated coal-fired power plants has left state utility Eskom struggling to keep the lights on. Unable to meet demand, it resorts to outages that can last as long as 12 hours a day, leaving schools, hospitals, restaurants and businesses relying on backup generators. If power cuts interrupt watering the vines can experience"partial stresses," which can reduce the size and number of fruit, according to Wanda Augustyn, the communications manager for Vinpro, an industry body.
Load shedding also halts bottling lines, leading to production delays and wastage of packaging materials. Saul’s small winery cannot afford a generator for its packing shed, leaving her team in a frantic rush to prepare, label and package bottles before the next four-hour power cut. She’s so far managed to fulfill large orders and avoid lost sales.
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