Question of the Day - Thursday, April 10th, 2025

[MROO]

My family's made up of Scouters, so we'd fare okay without electricity. We'd definitely still eat well. DS is a Master Campfire Cook and the only person I know who can consistently make great pizza in a cast-iron dutch oven! I still wash dishes by hand and everyone can do their own camp laundry. So yes, we would survive. Not happily, mind you, but we'd be okay. However, without my solar charger, I sure would miss my BYC buddies!

 

[MROO]

We’ve had power outages of up to a week where we are due to trees falling on the power lines. Can we do it? Yes, we have a large cooler and a gas stove. Do I want to do it again? NO.

I feel that! Been there, done that ... but would definitely prefer not to do a repeat unless absolutely necessary!

 

[tripletfeb]

Yes, of course. We are what you might call "preppers" so we have the ability to do everything off grid. Wood burning stove for cooking and heating, creek for water(besides what we have stocked), wash tub and clothes line for clothes. We already heat with wood in the winter so we are stocked with wood already. My biggest issue would be my family, who aren't prepared for anything, coming over and mooching off us.

Forgot to add that we already use a gas stove so the stove top is an option also

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Possibly. When the power goes out, they turn on a generator to keep the water on, and my Mom has a fireplace if it got too cold. I'd be fine on cereal and sandwiches...

That's when the power goes out though. I've gone camping plenty of times without any electricity and that’s with my longest trip being about a month long. I survived then and could do it again. If things really got down to it here and I needed to live like that at home, I'd do fine cooking and what not on a propane stove, just not being on a lake would be difficult when the dishes or a bath was needed.

 

[BantyChooks]

Absolutely not. This is one of my (many) issues with living in a city. You’re entirely dependent on the smooth and continual operation of a wide variety of things that like to break, with little means to prepare.

 

[Luckyhen006]

It certainly wouldn't be very fun, but we could do it.

 

[Gill-b]

Where to start for me to answer this question?

[I apologise in advance for the long written post, but I would appreciate if you read it through.]

South Africa has a major energy crisis.
We have ongoing widespread national power outages, which started in 2007.

It gets complicated to explain exactly how Loadshedding works, but it basically means that we can be without electricity between two to eight hours, on a daily basis, depending on the nations electricity demands and according to scheduled timetables.

Many to most (if not all) industries have had no choice but to invest in expensive large generators, and businesses have had to invest in UPS's (Uninterrupted Power Supplies) which consists of batteries to store up electricity for when the power goes out. (Imagine owning a supermarket or restaurant or a shopping mall with banks. Imagine owning an ice-cream shop.)

How this effects us on the home front, including everyone living in cities and the surrounding suburbs, is that we have had to adapt to living without electricity for short stretches of time. (Imagine preparing big sit-down dinners with the possibility of having no electricity to cook it with. Think of planning a work function for example, or a milestone birthday party or graduation or even a wedding.)

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, working from home meant that one had to get a UPS in order to have WiFi (and even then sometimes the Internet might be down). (Imagine trying to home school children with sporadic Internet.)

Everyone here now has some form of solar power; from big solar panels covering the roof, to solar powered mobile phone charges, to solar powered radios, flashlights and reading lamps.

Everyone here now has gas bottles for cooking (or just to boil water for a cup of tea or coffee).

Can I live without electricity? Short term answer is yes; we South African's have sort-of being doing it on-and-off for 18 years... long term answer is a definite no; it is just not possible living in an urban environment, relying on pumped in water supply.

Edited to add: Think of us driving to work without functioning traffic lights; think of ambulances trying to get to hospitals; think of our hospitals and operating theatres... it is part the reality we are in with our energy crisis.

Edited again to add: The upside to Loadshedding is all the romantic candlelight dinners.

 

[SkyAJK]

No way, José
Non
Noh
Nein
Nil



How on earth do I get to BYC every day without electricity?

We lost electricity before for a 4/5 hours because of the storm, it was fun because we lighted up the candle and had candlelight dinner, but it is not fun if it is a long term thing.

No..no...no...nein...nil

ps: we have nothing to cook without electricity and I have a week worth of grocery in the freezer, that is not just for us, but dogs and food for my chickens as well.

We do not have batteries for our solar so it does not work without main electricity.

That is the thing for living in the city.

 

[tripletfeb]

All you city dwellers still have options. Get a generator, even a small one would at least keep your fridge running. And you can always plant food in pots on a patio, deck, or balcony. There are loads of options, you just have to think of them

 

[SkyAJK]

All you city dwellers still have options. Get a generator, even a small one would at least keep your fridge running. And you can always plant food in pots on a patio, deck, or balcony. There are loads of options, you just have to think of them

I agreed. We will have to if we have no electricity for awhile, but city folks are ......I must say..me, complaint and complaint...

We used to have a BBQ and I am not sure where it is now..we have not use it for so many years, we might had given it away. There was a stage in my life I give away or throw out anything that I have not use for a year. I still do it 1 a week, I only have small items left now.