Powerless!

I found it strange that the streets looked so busy. People had left their offices early since they were unable to work in the dark. Unlike in India when the traffic lights fail, the polite Swiss in their cars were waiting for pedestrians to cross the street. I didn8217;t hear a single horn as I stood on the corner of the street. I made my way to a grocery store, to find it closed. People stood outside, alarmed that they could not buy food.

Cooking was not an option since homes rarely have gas stoves. Food in the refrigerators was beginning to get warmer. Panic was brewing. I heard an elderly couple speculate that the tsunami was coming. They could not understand why there was no electricity, this had never happened before. I went to my friend8217;s house and told her we could pool our food and eat dinner together. I saw more people on the streets than before. The same thing happened a few years ago when the power broke down in New York in 2003 8212; people poured into the streets to share the experience.

I got back home to realise that the land-line was not working. Naturally, it was plugged into an electrical socket! I lit a candle and sat down on my couch, realising there was not so much I could do. I couldn8217;t listen to music, watch television, read a book or cook dinner. Just then, voila! The electricity came back. It had been gone for just about an hour.

So much panic had been created in such little time. I peeped out of my window and saw that grocery stores had re-opened. After much comfort shopping, at the check-out counter I realised I was not alone; there were more people buying food than I had ever seen before, at that time of the day. The fear that the power could vanish again loomed large for a while.

In countries such as Switzerland, so dependent on electricity, the future involves energy management. Electricity is available here abundantly today, but will it be in the future? It is imperative that governments work with scientists and energy conservationists to find long term solutions. Living in India, you cannot help but think that load shedding and 24-hour power cuts are a way of life. Congratulate yourself, you can deal with it!

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