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We may have to face up to weathering power cuts
I suppose it is true to say the British have more or less come to terms with the reality of bad weather. No matter what the so-called experts have to say, the bottom line is we just accept what shows up and make the best of it.
That is not, however, an argument that would run very well for the unfortunate folk who recently spent a few days without electricity in their homes.
There appears to be a simple formula that suggests the better our standard of living gets the more we miss it when it is taken away by any event. It’s all too easy to think of power outages in terms of romantic candle light, ad hoc meals cooked on wee camping stoves, wearing as many of your clothes as you can struggle into, and playing endless games of Trivial Pursuit because the television is off.
The real truth is you might be cold, hungry and bored out of your skull by the end of the first day, contemplating a shift either to rellies in the town or a B&B in Saltcoats.
Losing home comforts to a power outage is not a common event for most people although it cannot be denied the further electrical power has to travel to your house, the more vulnerable it will be to disruption by the forces of nature.
So, if your light bulb is at the end of around 20 miles of exposed overhead cables, you have to take a keen interest in winter weather forecasting. It goes without saying the power company will always do its best to keep supplies going, repairing damage as swiftly as it is able but it can’t be everywhere at once. Even as we have recently seen, when the pundits tell us a truly terrible winter of snow and freezing weather is forecast, it encourages power companies to have a considerable workforce ready to hit the road at a moments notice, but a line break is going to take some time to find and fix.
This is maybe not the best time or place to remind readers, but this winter is far from over and more power cuts might well be on their way.
By now, our urban pals will be feeling a little smug, telling themselves they are safe from weather-created power cuts, but here’s a thought. As we gradually transfer from traditional methods of electricity generation to renewable energy, the wise men and women constantly tell us that unless we get our act together fairly soon, there will be a period when generating target shortfalls create situations whereby flicking a light switch might not mean a sure-fire guarantee of illumination.
By that time, the price of the stuff will mean we have exhausted all conventional means of energy frugality and there will be times when we just have to do without the stuff until it is our turn on the power supply rota. Not a pleasant thought, but worthy of consideration when each new application for a renewable energy project receives the usual howls of objections.
Geeky kit junkies like me often waste their time dreaming up fanciful schemes to install one of the modern generator set-ups that have an auto switch to initiate a reserve electricity supply the moment the mains power goes off; dreams that come down to earth with a severe bump when a little mental arithmetic and a Machine Mart catalogue reveal the horrific cost of such antics.
Taken over a nominal five-year period, the cost of generating occasional electricity by such means would be well over the tab for decamping to a posh hotel for the duration.
To hedge my personal bet, I would be quite happy to offer a home to one of the previous generation of generators (eh?) to wit, the Lister Startomatic, which, supported only by fuel and occasional maintenance, gave light and power to many isolated dwellings around here only a few decades ago.
The reality is that power cuts are a part of country life, although not totally confined to the rural areas. I recall one or two cuts in Selkirk over the years, mainly caused by spectacular thunderstorms during the summer, and so avoiding the worst aspect of the disruption.
I suppose I also need to offer silent thanks to my late grannie who, having survived the Blitz in London, would have served as a brilliant role model for the incautiously disbanded Civil Defence Force of the 1950s.
Grannie had what seemed to me massive stores of tinned and dried food, candles, paraffin lamps and stoves, all periodically checked and kept in good order with the wise counsel of “you never know when you might need this stuff,” a constant reminder that maybe the simple policies of prudence and preparation are the key to comfort in locations where people live near to the limits of utility service provision.
Somehow I get the feeling that most if not all the outlying folks who had to endure the gloom of power cuts were of the same stamp, well prepared to ensure an inconvenience did not become a disaster, and always ready to lend a hand to anyone who was not.
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Weather for Selkirk
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
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