Welcome to the new economy…pay before you use it.
You must buy electricity credits before you use it. This was news to me until the power went off (not a system blackout) but my meter was dry. Stores sell electricity credits just like they sell minutes for your cell phone. You buy a card and punch the code into your meter. People who do have electricity conserve it though power strips and keeping all non-essential lights and appliances turned off. One night I forgot to turn off the front light after I drove in and the neighbor’s guard came to the gate to ask my guard to have me turn it off…amazing.
In the documentary, FLOW, it showed several parts of the world where the water was privatized and people had to buy tokens before they could go to the local well. It seems that in the “Developing World” the people least able to pay are charged up-front and at premium rates (because they can only buy small amounts and there is a price break for the more you buy).
This experience has taught me to place more than monetary value on the resources I take for granted at home.
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