Power struggles

So as you may have heard we are in the midst of some power problems here at the moment (not the first time - see November '08 posts). Tanzania relies heavily on hydro turbines (water from reservoirs) to generate much of its electricity. This is a fantastic thing (very eco friendly!) and an example to many western countries with their huge coal smoke stacks destroying the environment!

However for a country which has upto 7months without any rain AT ALL this can be a rather risky business! And so we have found these last few weeks as the electricity company have announced a large deficit of power nationwide. The combination of low water levels in key reservoirs and turbines that have broken means that they have started large scale ‘power shedding’ across the whole country. They do not have enough power to meet demand and so they need to cut back.

Starting this week we have a scheduled 3 days (8am until 11pm) without any power. This means that of our waking hours only 58% of them will be with electricity! Considering one of these days is Sunday we will have considerably less proportion of time at home (rather than times when we are in the office) with power! Obviously for us that means a new schedule (early to bed, early to rise) and much less dependence on computers and other electrical items. The fridge seems just about to cope staying cool for these periods and so it’s more the difficulty of reading in the evening that is our biggest struggle!

Of course all these little things are not very bad. We adjust and go on with life. However for many Tanzanians it is causing major problems. For the store owners who can’t keep their freezers frozen. For the workshop owners who can’t operate their machines for 3 days of the week. For the factory workers who cannot do their job 3 days a week. And then you have the residential areas which become more of a target to thieves when in pitch black darkness for the first 4hours of the night. People are more afraid for their belongings and their safety.

Please join with us in praying for Tanzania, it’s people, it’s government and all the people making important decisions about it’s future. These are hard economic times across the globe but companies and individuals here in Tanzania are fighting an even harder battle without reliable power.