On Tuesday evening, an engineer and an intern were working in Itaipu,the massive hydro-electric plant that provides 20% of Brazil’s electricity. Before the engineer went home he told the intern, “When you leave, turn off the lights.” Or so that’s how the joke I received via e-mail Wednesday morning went, when 17,000 megawatts of electricity was returned to 50 million people.
Why the joke? That Tuesday evening, I was sitting with friends across town when just before 10:30 p.m., the lights flickered and went out. My friends, who live in a older building, frequently lose power and we figured it was just one of those days. But as we looked out of the window, we realized the whole neighborhood had gone dark.
When it was time for me to leave and go home, my hosts insisted on walking me to the bus stop. They said I shouldn’t be walking alone on the streets in the dark. It wasn’t safe. I agreed, and the three of us attempted to cross the street to the bus stop. It wasn’t going to happen. The roads were flooded with cars whose drivers were no longer obeying the traffic signals, as they too, ceased to function. I hopped into a cab instead. 
“Where to?” the taxi driver asked.
“Take me to the Botafogo Metro,” I said.
“Ok, but I hope you don’t plan on taking the metro,” he said, after pausing a moment.
“There too?”
Man, this blackout thing was bigger than I thought! He said the blackout had affected three Brazilian states. But he was wrong. Apparently, as we later found out, the blackout affected nine Brazilian States and the entire country of Paraguay.
But I thought it was kinda neat. The entire city was dark with the exception of headlamps and candles. Every police officer was called to the streets to prevent opportunists from taking advantage of the situation. Once I got home, my doorman had to manually open the door, and I even met a neighbor of mine whose door was ajar to capture some of the light produced by the generators in the hallway.
I, too, used the light from the hallway to find my headlamp and insert fresh batteries. I also searched for some candles that I thought my landlord may have stashed somewhere, but they couldn’t be found. So headlamp in place, I laid in my bed surrounded by the dark and silent night as I read my book before falling asleep. By 4:00 a.m. the lights had returned, and everything was back to normal.
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We take for granted the amenities that we are blessed with and forget what it must have been like before electricity. On the one hand we could see the stars and be one with nature again. On the other hand we go around the house flicking the light switches and then remember there’s no electricity. I vote for “power” to the people.