Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Off Aain, On Again


Many of you have asked me to write about everyday life in Lawra. Life in Lawra is great. It is a blessing to have the privilege to live here. But, it does have its challenges. Electricity is not stable. Often the current is low so much that if you are using something that pulls a lot of electricity, don't bother. It won't work. That is one reason why I haven't pushed for my a/c unit to be serviced since I returned. If the electricity is weak, how do I know my a/c is working properly?
 
The other issue is "lights off." (No electricity.) Sometimes it is planned, sometimes it is not. Evidently, Lawra is on a four day schedule. Every four days, lights go off at 6 pm or so and go back on at 2 am, eight hours later. Sometimes it is shorter, sometimes longer. It really helps to know the schedule. And, I am so grateful that we are not on the Accra schedule which is 12 hours on, 24 hours off.
 
It is the unplanned, unscheduled lights off that can be annoying. The weekends seem to be a favorite time for VRA (Volta River Authority, my electric company) to work on transformers. So, lights go off for awhile, come back on for an hour or so and go back off again. Or, they may flicker off and on. That can't be healthy for any kind of electronics! Yesterday was Monday, and lights were off again on again most of the day because of work on a transformer. Then, last night was our scheduled night to have lights off.
 
The moral of the story? Keep everything charged. Unplug favorite electronics before you leave the house. Use a stabilizer (to try to keep the current from jumping too high.) Be grateful for the times you do have electricity!

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