Coping With the Stress When Our Power Grid Is in a Terrible Mess — And It’s Getting Worse

The dark days would be gloomier if we didn’t brighten them with humor

Photo by William Carlson on Unsplash

South Africans have lived with load-shedding for nigh on 14 years come December. Over the past three weeks, I’ve enjoyed only two whole days without electricity interruptions.

So, please pardon my erratic writing — I’m often powerless to change it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term load-shedding, let me explain how Eskom, our national power utility, operates — or doesn’t.

When a breakdown occurs at a coal-fired power station (shame on you for your treachery at Copout 26), emergency generators chow diesel to keep the lights on as a temporary measure. But when our creaking 40-year-old plants fall like skittles in a bowling alley, power cuts are inevitable.

We call this intervention load-shedding.

Across the country, towns and cities reduce the load with scheduled blackouts, staggered across suburbs according to a timetable. The hours without power depend on the severity of the problem — from Stage 1 through Stage 6.

Though it’s not funny, we reduce our stress with doses of laughter.