I hate to harp on it... BUT, does anyone else share my growing despair?

I know that I, and some others, have posted a few concerns about the electrcity crisis that is gripping South Africa )and particularly Gauteng) at present.

It is wreaking havoc, causing frustration, and costing a great deal in lost productivity and revenue. So, please forgive me for another hopeless rant!

I arrived home from visiting my mom this afternoon to hear that the power had been out in our suburb since 2pm. It is now past 9pm and we're still in darkness! I have two sermons for my three services tomorrow, but neither of them are printed... So, I'll either appear in the pulpit with a Laptop (if it has any battery power left), or just 'wing it' from memory.

Now that is not a HUGE problem. I am known to be able to preach without my notes.

However, I wonder how we will cope with these outages when it is mid winter (and the demand for power is higher)? If we truly have to wait for another 5 years, then I forsee a bleak, dark, and embarrassing 2010 world cup soccer tournament here in South Africa!!!

Surely there must be SOMETHING that ESKOM could do? A local engineer has suggested two things 1) Stop selling our electricity to Zimbabwe and Mozambique... AND 2) Use other available, and more quickly constructed, technologies (such as gas turbines, solar and wind generation) to increase our capapcity.

Now, is there anything that WE can do to help THEM do something about this!?

I fear for my poor students who will have no power to complete their assignments by candle light, written by hand...