The region's ancient power plants fail daily. Many were held together on a shoestring even before hostilities erupted between Serbs and Albanians. In the small town of Gnjilane, where I am staying southeast of the provincial capital of Pristina, the electricity is supposed to rotate on for two hours then off for four. Even this rudimentary system does not work often. People here learned quickly to carry flashlights with them to avoid being stuck in the dark.
Restaurants offer only foods they can cook on a wood grill when the power fails.
No one bats an eye when the lights go out. The noise and smell of generators fill the town. The town's water pumps are supposed to work but fail almost as often as the power. Other sanitary services, such as garbage pickup, have mostly been abandoned. Once the responsibility of the Serbian government, trash pickup now is occasionally performed by men pulling farm wagons with small tractors.