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Back in the early 1980s, our small township – like many others across the country – had no electricity.
The sources of power were coal, wood, generators, candles, paraffin lamps and gas.
Parents would often remind their children not to waste a candle or paraffin if they planned to stay up late to prepare for exams.
This was our life, and we accepted it and lived comfortably on our dark streets.
So, when the first mast lights came (we called them Apollos and I’ve got no clue why), it was joy for the community.
Youngsters would hang around the Apollos late into the night. The light meant no one was being forced to go to bed. It was a nice sight.
Gradually, electricity became a common thing and almost all households got power. Out went the generators, the gas stoves, the coal and the firewood.
We could now instantly boil water with an electric kettle. We were truly liberated.
I was reminded of my past life on Wednesday when our area in the west of Johannesburg was hit by a rolling blackout that lasted for 19 hours.
Apparently some criminals felt that the residents didn’t deserve electricity and sought to liberate the cables for their selfish interests.
The result was that copper cable lines were exhumed and cut, rendering several suburbs lightless from at least 2am to 9.30pm.
The market for stolen copper is clearly an attraction for enterprising business, which leads criminals to risk their lives while stealing the cables.
Thieves have been so robust in their criminality that even the high-speed Gautrain has been forced to cancel services due to cable theft.
We could still cook and boil water on the gas stove, but the darkness in the area and the lack of information from the electricity providers irked me the most.
In the 1980s, darkness meant we could play hide and seek (black mabhatile), but now we have no clue what to do when the lights go out.
We depend on electricity so much that candles are not bright enough for youngsters to study by.
Some joke that power outages mean you can have candlelit dinners, but it’s not exactly that kind of dinner when it is forced on you.
City Power proved ineffective in communicating during the 19-hour ordeal, making the outage seem even longer.
The company first told us that technicians had been dispatched at about 3am. Then, four hours later, told us what the problem was.
After that, is was deafening silence for almost 10 hours. We finally got an update at about 5pm – to give an estimated time of restoration.
The silence made residents angrier and less tolerant of the problem.
Next time, City Power, please communicate better with us.
