Week-long power outage leaves heart patient in distress in Ruyterwacht

More than a week in the dark, Jerome Engelbrecht says his family was left without power in Ruyterwacht, where electricity is supplied by Eskom. For more than a week, the Engelbrecht family lived in the dark. No lights.

No hot meals. Jerome Engelbrecht, a Ruyterwacht resident, said his household had been without power since the Easter weekend. “This time around it was a terrible experience because I’m a heart patient and often have breathing problems, and I could not use my nebuliser,” he said.

The outage was linked to a damaged pole, according to the family, leaving the household without electricity despite repeated attempts to get assistance fromEskom. “I have called the call centre over and over. Every time it is the same story, a new person, and no actual help.

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There is no follow up, no urgency, nothing,” Engelbrecht said. With no electricity, everyday life quickly unravelled. “I lost almost a whole lamb, seafood from Easter and a lot of small things,” he said.

Engelbrecht, who does small welding jobs to help support the household, said he was unable to work during the outage. “I could do nothing because of having no electricity,” he said.

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