Power rationing

Zambia, like other countries in southern Africa, has been hit by a serious power shortage. To compensate, the country has been rationing power to its civilians. Usually twice a day - once from noon until two in the afternoon and once from six until eight in the evening - electrical power is turned off, meaning lots of cold, candlelit meals. At the end of last week, the state utility company, Zesco Ltd., announced that it would deepen rationing to civilians in order to maintain supplies to the copper and cobalt mines in the north of the country, which are the backbone of the nation's economy. It sounds like there are many more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and salads in my near future.