I spent last night sitting in darkness again, listening to the distant rumble of my neighbor's generator. The ceiling fan above me was motionless, my phone battery slowly draining, as beads of sweat dripped down my face. This is our new reality, living in a modern era with a power supply that seems to be stuck in the stone age. If you're reading this by the light of your emergency lamp or candlelight, nodding your head in anger, know that you are not alone in this daily battle.
The reality of our power condition in my area is a nightmare. To go six days without a flicker of electricity is unthinkable. The power they do give us is like a visiting guest who arrives for two hours and then departs again. And then, curiously, the electricity bills keep arriving month after month, each one bigger than the last, charging people for a service they barely receive.
The conditions have now deteriorated so much that many residents have cut themselves loose from the grid altogether. Those who are able use gasoline generators, and some others use solar panels as a primary means of power. The majority make do with rechargeable lights and lamps, creating a two-tier system of haves who can light their residences and have-nots who must sit in darkness.
This unstable power supply resonates with every area of the domestic economy. The small enterprises and artisans who live on electricity have a worse scenario to contend with. Either shut business in case of power failure or suffer the strangling expense of operating generators. As fuel costs increase ever consistently, the majority are forced to hike prices simply to stay afloat, contributing to the overall upsurge in cost of living.
The source of the problem is the aged condition of our power grid. Our local transformers are like old patients in need of urgent medical attention. They are ancient, unstable, and overloaded with usage. The old transformer managed to limp along for barely two hours before experiencing some form of failure. A blown fuse every now and then, a burned cable from time to time, and the worst-case scenario has the whole transformer blowing up into a fireball.
It's not just age, it's capacity. As new houses get built and new neighborhoods are developed, all that extra load is being placed on transformers installed decades ago. It's like asking a retired person to have to carry twice their own weight. Something will break.
The solution is straightforward, but implementing it requires political will and funding. The neighborhood needs:
1. New transformers to replace the existing ones
2. Additional transformers to spread the load adequately
3. Regular maintenance schedules
4. Upgrading of infrastructure to meet population growth
Without these upgrades, the vicious cycle of erratic power will continue, forcing residents to turn to expensive alternatives and dampening economic growth.
The solution lies ahead, and it needs governmental focus and action. To keep things as it is, is unsustainable. Each day without stable electricity is yet another day of lost productivity, of higher costs, and of angry citizens.
As long as the fundamental infrastructure issues continue, residents will continue paying for electricity that they never actually get and supplementing with high-cost alternatives in order to just have lights inside their homes. It's time for genuine action to deliver consistent power to homes and businesses everywhere. The solution exists now, what is needed is the political will to see it implemented.
The image used is AI generated.