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Planned Darkness

These scheduled black-outs in California are reminiscent of what they called "load-shedding" back in Kolkata when I was a kid. It was a fact of life, the schedule was predictable so no one acted surprised or offended. We rolled out the kerosene lamps and candles, got on with our lives. 

If the mosquitoes got too out of hand, there was the mosquito net to get under. Typically, kids who wanted to lazy out of doing homework were quick to get under the net and into bed, call it a day. And at the appointed hour, the power would be turned back on. This was decades ago, in a city that was once called the "Dying City". Yet the present day ordeals of the hapless Californians sounds significantly worse

The outages could last days. That’s because turning the electricity back on is no small task—every mile of power line that’s been shut off needs to be inspected visually, by foot or vehicle or air. The winds that caused the shutdown could have knocked branches and shrubs into the lines, which will have to be cleared. Power lines run through dense forests only accessible by hiking in. The work can’t be done in the dark.

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