Power down in South Africa
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Opinion

Power down in South Africa

It was to this journalist’s surprise that when making a short trip to Johannesburg for business, she was to be transported back to the airport at the end of her trip by electric car.

Power-down-in-South-Africa



While this may have been a novel and interesting experience for some, for the journalist in question, anxiety quickly ensued: load shedding in South Africa – the deliberate interruption of electricity supply to the grid – is a common and often lengthy occurrence. And on that particular day, there had been power cuts in the city lasting around four hours.

And like a scene out of some sort of horror film, this journalist’s worst nightmare came true. Suddenly, while travelling in the late night traffic on a four-lane motorway, the car began to slowdown without warning. The driver was able to get the car to the hard shoulder, but by this point, the car battery was completely dead. 

After a 40-minute wait on the side of the road, our heroine was luckily saved by another taxi, whisked to the airport and made the flight with just minutes to spare. The driver, however, is probably still waiting for a steady stream of power to come back on in Johannesburg to charge his not so trusty steed.

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