For wiser rationing

Addis Ababa is a sprawling metropolis of anywhere between four and 8 million inhabitations, depending on point of statiscal reference. It is the third largest city in Africa and is physically expanding by some 10%, accordingly to some estimates.
Capital cities of the many forms of historic Ethiopia have seldom if ever, been purposely selectively to serve as potentially permanent settlements and usually reflected shifts in the political center of gravity. Virtually no consideration was given to the computability of the area for urban settlement. Accessability, ample water and fuel resources, food supply and other amenities came distant seconds to the merits of the location in terms of military application. In short, if it the lay of the land made it easier to defend against enemy attack, it would do just fine. Although Addis Ababa's establishment is more prosaic and less militaristic than say, Ankober's or Gonder's, the fact remains that it became a permanent settlement almost by virtue of default. As such, this historic absence of urban planning has resulted in a patchwork city a coat of many colors instead of a readily recognizable identity.
Since we must make do with what is at hand and has become a fact of life, lamenting the chaotic settlement of Addis Ababa will not solve the very current issues which are still blighting this city. These are, among others

n Raw sewerage
n Solid waste
n Impassable sidewalks
n Utilities

Few things dampen the national spirit as does the lack and/or absence of properly functioning services, inadequate utilities and basic monitoring of municipal services, leading to a general sense of urban decay.
At the moment, among the most serious problems facing residents are the increasing frequency and length of power blackouts, the intermittent water supply and the glacial internet, perhaps the slowest in Africa - and that's accounting for a lot. The slow internet system by the way, is also exacerbated by power shedding - the main factor for life aggravation in Addis Ababa and Ethiopia today.
We wonder if the authorities have ever considered a wiser schedule for power shedding. Surely, there must be "best practice'' even in how to ration power, instead of the now two and half days a week of over 16 hours of power cutting.
Relatively equal savings on the meager power available to EEPCo could be achieved without incurring the presently unsustainable impact of three work days effectively scratched out. Curricula are falling behind as teachers find it difficult to reconcile lesson plans with the school year. Many more activities, too obvious to list are being affected. But we must raise the added inflationary pressure exerted when small, medium and even larger scale enterprises, especially those which produce consumables; dairy products, bread and pastry, beverages and other items, reduce output forced by power shortages.
A solution would be to ration power by not denying any neighborhood of all power for such extended periods. Instead, power could be made to be available everywhere, every 6 hours. This would mean power in a given area would be available for at least six hours of the working day, alternating daily between a.m. and p.m., if need be.

Perhaps, then we could at least find cold beer to drown our urban malaise.