The Rolling Blackouts...

...seem not to be affecting our neighborhood.  Actually, just our block.  Across the street it's dark (and not just the cemetery).

Apparently we are in the worst drought in 45 years and the country, maybe even the region, runs on hydroelectric power.  So every night a board decides what hours to cut power the next day.  But until yesterday, the proclamations are only made public in the morning so there isn't much time to plan.   And sometimes their maps are not the most accurate.

Last night, for example, Carlos saw online that there would not be power in his office from 11AM to 3PM.  But when he arrived this morning at 8AM, he had no power.  So he moved his meeting across the street to some space at the university where there was power, then returned to his office at 10:30AM and waited.  Meanwhile, I decided to go to the bank around that time, thinking that I could get my banking done before 11AM if the bank has power, or wait until 11AM if it did not.  Well, the bank had power - and a really long line.  So I waited.  At 11AM there was still power.  At 11:03AM there was still power.  At 11:05AM, while I was third in line, the power went out.  The guards immediately kicked us out and told us to go to another branch with power.  At that same time, Carlos got power and could start working again.

A few things to note.  First, the bank does not have generators.  Or if it does, there is not enough power to serve customers.  Second, since the maps for these outages are not always correct, there seems to be potential for a huge loss of productivity.  Well, I'm sure the blackouts do cause an enormous loss of productivity, though I'm sure that it could be made up with more efficient work practices, but that's another story.  Third, the minister in charge said that he hopes to cut usage by 5 - 10% through these rolling blackouts.  Why not just try to get the public to not watch as much TV? Or promote efficiency?

My conclusion?  I'm practicing my rain dance.