Thursday, November 19, 2009

New Vocabulary: Load Shedding

"We will try and bring down the power cuts to 8-10 hours a day this winter,"  Minister for Energy Dr. Prakash Sahran Mahat claimed... (MyRepublica.com)
Yes, at uncertain times every 24 hours - TV screens darken, music ceases, machines stop humming, lights go out, and you better know where your flashlight is.

Inadequate rainfall, mountain snows not melting, poor maintenance of existing hydro-power plants plus the inability to construct new ones or import additional power from India have created a severe shortage of electricity for several years now.
In the evening whole sections of Kathmandu are illuminated by trekking headlamps, (I have one packed already), gas or kerosene lamps and candles. Hotel rooms can be particularly difficult to navigate as there are none of those familiar "emergency lights" and pitch black darkness reigns.

note to self: place flashlight under pillow every night
         

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