Load shedding

It's been a while since I've shared quirky things about South Africa from my foreign viewpoint, but I think it's that time. However, I think even South Africans would find this quirky.

South Africa has not invested quickly enough in several types of infrastructure over the last decade or two to keep pace with the growth they've experienced. The most visible example of this right now is in the power industry. Even though this summer is unseasonably cool, they do not have remotely enough power generation capacity.

Every day they have to black out a different part of the country. It feels like it is nearly always either Woodmead or Bryanston, where I live and work. The power goes out for a few hours and everyone quickly tries to convince their boss that they can't work without a PC/power and get out of the building before the power comes back on and ruins their short day. This is pretty comical to watch, lame to live through and a bit scary since the stoplights are ALWAYS out right now, seemingly everywhere. Traffic's a nightmare.

Here's the part I find the most funny though. You can imagine how this puts strain on the economy. POS systems don't work when the power goes out at the mall. Restaurants can't serve food. Ice cream is always melted or gross at the grocery store.

The funny thing is how it is affecting the local gyms.

Gyms are starting to lose significant business because they are just plain dangerous. Imagine you're at the gym, minding your own business, listening to your iPod and watching a rugby game on TV while you run on the treadmill. You're cruising. You're quite sure you could be the fastest guy in the gym right now, even faster than those twenty somethings down the way. Kick it up a notch. Feel the burn. Feel the sweat. BAM! Lights go out, TV turns off and the treadmill stops abruptly. You go flying into the console ahead of you blindly. Bruised and bloody you hear nothing but Pearl Jam from your iPod, suddenly way too loud, and the screams of all the other treadmill runners around you.

This doesn't happen just once. It happens every night.

This is an indication of how far the load shedding culture has gotten - one of my consultants got an SMS on his phone the other night from a restaurant he'd eaten at the previous night right after the lights went out. "We have generator power and serve dinner through load shedding", it said. Very entrepreneurial. Very funny.

Especially funny when you get to leave in a couple of weeks. Estimates are that it will only worsen for at least five if not ten years before more generation is available. One more good reason to love Texas. (are you counting these, Katie?)