Part of the Skopje region is left without power today - and, as usual, „due to planned technical works on the electricity distribution grid." The outages affect settlements in the Saraj, Sopište, and Petrovec municipalities and the surrounding villages, with different time slots throughout the day.

The schedule is sprawling. Part of Saraj, near the „ER Gros" market, is without power from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.; the villages in Sopište - Držilovo, Patiška Reka, Elovo, Crn Vrv, Osinčani, and others - across several time intervals from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and in Kadino near Petrovec, streets 11 and 3 stay in the dark from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. In other words - for some households this means nearly a whole working day without power.

„Planned works" is a standard phrase we hear regularly, and yet rarely does anyone explain why modernizing the grid requires such long shutdowns, or whether they really have to last six hours each. For a household with a fridge full of food, with someone working from home, or with a small child, six hours without power on a summer day is no small thing. Citizens accept that the grid is maintained - but they have a right to ask whether it can be done faster, smarter, and with more respect for their time.