Wanneer daar geen krag is nie, kook ons nie en bly die kombuis donker.

Here daar is an existential word, like English there in there is / there are.

So:

• Daar is krag. = There is power.
• Daar is geen krag nie. = There is no power.

It does not mean a physical place here. It is just part of the structure used to say that something exists or does not exist.

Because wanneer introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb toward the end.

Compare:

• Main clause: Daar is geen krag nie.
• Subordinate clause: Wanneer daar geen krag is nie

So the word order changes after wanneer.

A useful pattern is:

• Wanneer + subject/material + verb + nie

That is why you get is near the end instead of earlier in the clause.

Geen is the normal word for no / not any before a noun.

So:

• krag = power
• geen krag = no power

You use geen with nouns:

• geen water = no water
• geen tyd = no time
• geen geld = no money

So nie krag would not be the normal way to say no power.

Because Afrikaans normally keeps a clause-final nie even when there is already another negative word such as geen, niks, niemand, or nooit.

So:

• Daar is geen krag nie.
• Ek sien niks nie.
• Hy kom nooit nie.
  (less common in modern everyday use than some other patterns, but it shows the rule)

This is a very common Afrikaans feature. So in this sentence:

• geen marks the negative idea with the noun
• the final nie closes the negative clause

Because the sentence begins with a fronted time clause:

• Wanneer daar geen krag is nie, ...

After that opening element, the main clause shows inversion: the verb comes before the subject.

So:

• Neutral main clause: Ons kook nie.
• After a fronted clause: Wanneer ..., kook ons nie.

This is similar to the way Afrikaans often puts the verb in the second position of the clause.

For the same reason: the opening wanneer clause sets up the sentence, and the coordinated part after en keeps the same inverted pattern.

So the sentence is built in parallel:

• kook ons nie
• bly die kombuis donker

This makes the structure neat and balanced.

You may also hear or see:

• Wanneer daar geen krag is nie, kook ons nie en die kombuis bly donker.

That version is also understandable and natural. The given sentence just keeps the inversion in both coordinated parts.

Because that part is not negative.

It means:

• the kitchen stays dark

That is a positive statement about a negative situation, not a grammatical negation of the verb bly.

So:

• kook ons nie = we do not cook
• bly die kombuis donker = the kitchen stays dark

Only the first of those two main-clause parts is negated.

Bly here means stay or remain.

So:

• Die kombuis bly donker. = The kitchen stays dark.

In Afrikaans, bly can be followed directly by an adjective:

• bly stil = stay quiet
• bly wakker = stay awake
• bly donker = stay dark

You do not need is here, because bly itself is the verb.

Literally, krag means power. But in everyday context it very often means electrical power / electricity supply.

So in this sentence:

• geen krag = no electricity / no power

This is especially common in contexts like blackouts or power cuts.

It can suggest either, depending on context.

In a sentence like this, wanneer often has a general meaning close to:

• when
• whenever

So the sentence can be understood as a general truth:

• Whenever there is no power, we do not cook and the kitchen stays dark.

Afrikaans often lets context decide whether it is one specific occasion or a repeated situation.

Because the sentence starts with a subordinate clause:

• Wanneer daar geen krag is nie, ...

In Afrikaans, as in English, it is normal to separate an introductory subordinate clause from the main clause with a comma.

So the comma helps show the structure:

1. Wanneer daar geen krag is nie
2. kook ons nie en bly die kombuis donker

Yes. A very clear alternative would be:

• Ons kook nie en die kombuis bly donker wanneer daar geen krag is nie.

Or:

• Wanneer daar geen krag is nie, kook ons nie en die kombuis bly donker.

These versions may feel easier to learners because ons kook and die kombuis bly look more familiar. The original sentence is still perfectly good Afrikaans; it just uses more advanced word-order patterns.