Load Shedding

The following blog post was written on the evening of 8th July. Due to technological restrictions it will be posted at a later date. Internet connection is dial-up, therefore images will be attached upon returning to South Africa during the weekend of 11-12 July. Sorry! I have the pictures picked out and will post as soon as I can!

Load shedding is an interesting thing to get used to. Load shedding occurs because there is deficit of electricity (South Africa is in the process of building several new coal electric plants to accommodate the increase energy demand). Therefore, electricity goes out for several hours a day, at different times in depending on the area.

For us here in Roma this occurs sometime in the morning, usually around 7:00am. This can be problematic for people trying to shower since the water pumps need electricity for good water pressure to be established. It can also make the morning colder because your electric blanket will go off and ease you into the chilly morning.

Load shedding in Maseru happens later in the day, which is a problem for restaurants (which seem to temporarily shut down during power outages) and internet cafes (the computers are improperly turned off about once day).

I also seemed to notice that people don’t use elevators in public buildings and, as I was walking up six flights of stairs, it occurred to me that being a passenger in an elevator during load shedding would not be a fun experience.