Another Dark Day In Africa
Today has been a shocker when it comes to having the basics like electricity as since midnight last night we have had no less than 5 outages with the longest lasting for just on 4 hours. We are scheduled to be cut off again at midnight which is just diabolical to even consider.
Many shops close their doors during the power cuts as not all shopping centers have generators. A few of the bigger retailers have back up power, but many don't including banks. This ATM is off line as many places comes to a stand still.
When your utilities are falling apart then the country has major problems as this has a direct impact on the economy. Not only the economy but the confidence of the people in that country takes a knock as the belief that one day things might improve is knocked out of them. In South Africa we have had power cuts or load shedding for 15 years now having started in 2007. To be dealing with an issue for 15 years smacks of failure all round.
Today was so bad I had to call it quits on the generator as I budget for 4 hours a day on fuel. I used double that today and still ran dry and refused to go and buy more as there has to be a limit at some point.
One has to remember we are not in winter and are experiencing warm weather currently so there is no extra strain on the system. The power utility is maxed out and the only way to get around this is to cut power at regular intervals so a normal life can be lived if you call that normal. These days a 2 hour planned power cut is the normal that is bearable at best, but then you get to experience extreme days like today more and more frequently. The last of having unplanned outages was only 3 days ago which not only affected the residential area I live in, but the family business which had to send staff home early.
This is just an example of what life is like here now and if you are lucky the power is switched on without delays once the power outage is over. This just feels so surreal now that it isn't happening and it is a bad dream, but this is as real as it gets.
Notice the dates on the repairs and maintenance being undertaken at the various power stations around the country and this does not fill you with confidence. Dates yet to be determined for the ones already offline and they have only been recently taken off line. This is 15 years of digging your hole deeper and not being able to get back out. Sadly Medupi 4 never even got going as they blew that one up by not following the start up procedures and shows a lack of technical knowledge and these are the ones controlling the country's grid.
What doesn't make financial sense is it is reportedly costing the economy R1 Billion per stage in load shedding lost per day. We are on stage 4 so R4 billion today so 3 days of this equates to the figure the power utility ahs spent on diesel. that is a drop in the ocean considering what the country is losing weekly.
Heaven help us as this is expected to continue for a few more years yet with estimates saying 2026/27 if they receive all the funding required. This won't happen as we are talking $400 Billion plus to fix the problem out right.
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It must be a real problem for folks in the hospitals and grocery stores keeping the food cold. That fuel gets expensive I bet.
I dont know how you do it for this long.
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Hospitals are om solar and generators, but the big machines like the MRI won't work. The switch over is seconds so when I was in hospital recently you just wait. This week we are going to stage 5 which is a 2 hour power outage every 5 hours. I don't plan to do this much longer as I have been doing it long enough already.
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Sounds a lot like the situation here in Cambodia, so many power cuts per day. Luckily we aren't in an urban area anymore because other than light bulbs, we don't really have many things that use electricity.
I've got a UPS for my PC and the light bulbs here all have little batteries installed in them, and can run for several hours on the battery backups, and that is nice to prevent any potential thievery during a blackout.
Never heard pf those types of light bulbs. Is there a particular brand and are they more expensive than normal light bulbs? This could be a potential opportunity as the majority are using candles.
Just Googled and they are here, but way more expensive than the normal bulbs. If they were of similar price then people would buy them.
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It's nighttime here now, but I'll investigate tomorrow and see if I can find some brand names. They are the norm now in Cambodia because most people can't afford battery backups or generators, and when we purchase them, it's only an extra buck or two versus normal light bulbs.
When the batteries, burn out, the light bulbs still work as normal when the power is on. As would be expected, they are cheap Chinese things, so they break in all sorts of unpredictable ways, but still it's nice to not plunge into immediate darkness during a power cut because of having these simple but smart light bulbs.
Well, since the family is sleeping, here is a screenshot of a fancier GE version complete with a flashlight style switch. I have also see cheap Chinese versions like this where you there is a button and you can basically unscrew your bulb and take it with you as you would a flashlight, gotta get some of these if I see em' again.
No way to live...
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Totally agree.
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Do you actually have UK citizenship?
With no end in sight, surely you've gotta move back?
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Yes I was born in England. Currently looking for what the options are and weighing them all up. Looking for another business or to relocate the one here to another country out of Africa.
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At least it sounds like you do have some options available.
All the best with it mate!
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Always have options or you are screwed.
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