If you pause for a minute to observe your surroundings as you go in search of a hot coffee and a wifi signal this morning to help soothe the stage 6 blues, you will notice the subtle but distinctive pall of gloom that hangs over SA.

It is a feeling we have all become accustomed to, even on a subconscious level, over the past few years.

With every higher stage of load-shedding, there is an equal but opposite drop in the mood of the nation. You can almost hear the economy contracting, small industries going out of business, suburban substations blowing up and our geriatric power grid wheezing under the strain, like the death rattle of a terminal patient waiting to expire...