A bit more re mobile networks. As mentioned, disruptions are possible (generally a somewhat degraded service rather than none at all), and by no means inevitable. I composed and submitted the entire essay in #1 using a mobile device during a session of load-shedding.

Which is another thing: higher stages mean more frequent periods of no power, not one very long stretch. Each local authority has its own schedule - one of the things that makes the ESP app so valuable.

I’ve been following the news for my program and I can’t tell what is sensationalized vs. what the government puts out for messaging on the crisis vs. what the reality of the situation is. Is the outlook particularly grim, from a local perspective? My progr-m focuses on domestic politics, national development, and the intersectionality of those two with race, so I’ve had to pay particularly close attention to the load shedding issue in current events, but reading about it is only one side of the story.

It's my personal opinion (fear) that the outlook is more grim than not, but I say that as a member of the public: the bulk of my information comes from a reasonably critical reading of news sources and opinion pieces. The day-to-day lived reality is much as I've described, and of course the more in-depth academic thinking you'll be accessing elsewhere.