Getting used to the dark

Do you remember how in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, we got so used to living with masks on that we felt naked without one? Do you remember being nervous about bringing anything into the house before spraying it with sanitiser? And how worried that you were about getting too close to people you didn’t live with?

Now, we’re learning to live without electricity, and a day without loadshedding is like a holiday, or at least a reason to celebrate.

I write this in darkness, not having had power in my home since last Thursday at 18:00, when I last experienced loadshedding. The power was meant to return just after 22:00, and it did for a few seconds. I heard a bang outside, and that put paid to my power to date. This is the third time in the past three months that this has happened and, once again, our house was the only one affected in the immediate area.

You can guess that when I realised that it was only our house, my heart sank because I knew it meant that this was my fight alone and, as we know, there’s power in numbers.

Had it been my street or area, it would more likely be a quick outage – a day or two – because lots of people would report the fault, and many problems would be solved by one solution. However, when it’s only one house, it’s only one problem, and priority always seems to be given to the single-solution-fixes-many problems. Such was the case.

So, I did what I always do, I reported a fault online, messaged my area councillor, and waited.

I kept an eye on the online fault and checked in with my councillor over the weekend, but I had a good sense that if it wasn’t sorted by Saturday morning, I was unlikely to get any joy until Monday. By Sunday, my reported fault was automatically closed, no word to me at all.

So, I contacted my councillor and opened a new fault. I did this three times this week, regularly pleading with my councillor, the only person I knew to contact. I think she was doing her best, but she was inundated, and I wasn’t the only person on her case. I’m sure she has had to grow a thick skin because how else do you take the abuse, desperation, and pleading from people who are just trying to get their power back?

When I was stressing about this early on, my son asked me if there was anything I could do that I hadn’t already done to fix the situation. I said no. He responded, “If there’s nothing you can do, then stop stressing. It won’t help!” He was right, and I did my best from then on. A week later, this is no joke!

However, much like COVID-19, we adapted to the darkness. I managed to ensure we have Wi-Fi and can charge our electronic devices and battery-operated lamps. We have a gas stove so we can cook, and I transferred everything from my freezer to my neighbour’s. There are many things we can’t do and don’t have, especially hot water. But, the human spirit is indomitable, so we have made a plan.

But why should we have to?

I have been told on several occasions that the technician was on the way, or would at least be there yesterday, the day before, today … but he hasn’t yet arrived.

Many have suggested that I contact an electrician to fix the problem. Great idea, only I’m told that the electrician and I would be breaking the law by having him fix a municipal problem. That box atop the pole outside my house doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to the municipality. So, although it supplies electricity to me, I’m not allowed to pay someone to fix it if it’s broken.

So, I’m prevented from fixing the problem, but it’s okay for the municipality to leave me without electricity for a week and ignore my requests and pleas.

As you can see from our lead story, I’m not alone. Not even close.

So, while loadshedding is harming all of us to a certain degree, the impact of loadshedding on overused and distressed infrastructure is causing these further outages. I watched as the numbers of complaints grew from 464 on the second day to more than 700 a few days later. I’m sure that the technicians are worked to a standstill, but there are once again not enough of them, and so the complaints grow and grow. And people like me get put on hold. And the problems get plastered over rather than fixed, so they reoccur.

How many of us have to deal with this?

There’s an obvious solution: going solar. I have no doubt that to avoid this distress, most of us – if we can afford it – will go that route.

However, here’s the rub. Do you know that you must get permission from City Power to install solar panelling and whatever it takes to make it work? What’s more, City Power insists on ensuring that the solar system you choose is acceptable (to City Power) and the same department has to “witness and approve the installation after ensuring proper grid-connection compliance”, according to City Power. I kid you not! So, City Power technicians are too busy to come and fix my electricity, leaving me without power for a week, but they are going to find time to do all of this. And I will have to pay for the pleasure. Really?

While all of this was happening, I happened to hear about the 201st mass shooting in the United States this year. It was in Texas. I also heard how Israel was being rained on by rockets from Gaza. Thank G-d for the Iron Dome keeping people safe!

Suddenly I realised that the grass was not necessarily greener on the other side.

Shabbat Shalom!

Peta Krost

Editor