speedking

Uh-oh! Blackouts imminent.

A few power cuts would focus the mind on accelerating the construction of new nuclear capacity.

Looks like EDF has the UK government over a barrel now.

jonc

Surely there's an opportunity for the Government to come up with a new tax to stop this from happening, stop people from using too much electricity.....

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

This is what happens when you privatise essential services! Simple as that!

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Hmm I'd better stop reporting all the failed street lights to the local council (seriously, I think its only me who bothers to do this )

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

Or to put it another way...
Energy boss says the government needs to give the energy industry more money.

riiidaa

iTrader: (2)

and give them to the French!

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Anyhoo, I doubt it come to this...we'll just buy more electric from overseas anyway.

Unless we max out the cable's capacities.

Graz

So much for all those heavily subsidised solar panel installs

kevo10

Trouble is, that ,even though everyone knows we need energy and therefore ways to make it, nobody wants the nuclear plant, wind farms (coastal or otherwise) or any other technology ,in their backyard. The do gooders dont want nuclear for obvious reasons . Wind farms arent pretty so what are the alternatives?. It was bad enough , in the 70's, with 3 day weeks and power cuts, but now we are even more dependant on electric and gas

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

Wouldn't a better option be to reduce our consumption, through massive Home Insulation schemes and appliance replacement, etc. Think of the jobs it would create too.

jonc

With the devaluing of the Sterling, importing gas is only going to mean one thing for consumers. Forget wind farms and nuclear and they take decades to build, we should start extracting shale gas, this country is sitting a massive reserve, so let start fracking. Energy bills would be slashed too leaving more disposable income for Joe Public, we'd be less dependent on supplies from Europe and jobs and a new industry would be created.

jonc

That's what actually happens when you have a nationalised essential service!!

Chip

Exactly, but I'm sure F1 will think differently

Regarding the power cuts, it was the same 2-3 years ago when it was said the system was running at 100% capacity. Having access to NG's system I can catergorically tell you it was not. Most I saw was that it was running at about 86% and then only during the peak periods.

Chip

Adrian F

Build a few coal fired to bridge the gap we have loads of coal so good security of supply and its cheap technology with no risk like nuclear invest in tidal research as that is the only reliable source of renewable for us with our climate and location

mrmadcap

Too many people relying on a UK infastructure that's creaking under the strain from lack of investment.

Infastructure that cannot be maintained or improved because of the numbers on benefit that are not paying into the system, and apart from our home grown variety, more are arriving daily with no skills to gain employment so not passing go and going straight to 'community chest'.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Of course, one of the problems with prices wouldn't be that the energy companies have to make a profit for their shareholders, would it?

And as for there being plenty of coal in the UK, not any more there isn't, or at least, not available, due to the nastiness of a PREVIOUS Tory government.

warrenm2

FAIL

Its to do with coal plants closing early because of the EU large combustion plant directives and "greenhouse gas emissions". For example http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...arch-2013.html

Ditch the greenie crap and there's no problem

Chip

Surely it is better to have a successful profitable company rather than being loss making and wasteful like they were before privatisation.

As for the coal industry, King Arthur has a lot to do with closing the mines as well as the government.

jonc

The UK coal industry's decline started long before the previous Tory government, check your history.

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

Why haven't we started to prodice items that are 110v like the yanks!

GC8

Serious?

Steve vRS

There is plenty of capacity at the moment but believe it or not, it's not worth running some of it at the moment, certainly not worth investing in new build!

Steve

cster

I wonder what the old Commie is up to these days?
I'll wager he ain't short of a few bob.

Dr Hu

Well he's certainly missing his Barbican flat in Central London, that he thought he would have for life, fully funded by the National Union of Miners.... They told him to **** off a few months ago!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Sure, but quite whay that profit needs to go to private investors is beyond me.

AQuite right, they were as bad as each other.

I don't need to check my history, I lived through it all, and many years before.

What I DO know is that the spiteful bitch closed many mines that she said weren't profitable, which would now have been worth keeping open. She refused to have them mothballed, she insisted they close, and once you close a mine, its nigh on impossible to re-open it

The country is sitting on MILLIONS of tons of coal we now can't get at.

At the time of closure, we had estimated reserves for THREE HUNDRED years....what do we have now?

Cheers Maggie, you old cow,

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Good point as they would only use half the power

DYK

Would rather have those windmills out at sea, than scattered all over the land.

speedking

Was that the grid or the generation capacity?

Not true. Locals at Wylfa, Hinkley and Sellafield are strongly in favour of Nuclear New Build for the jobs it would create.

What are those obvious reasons?

^Qwerty^

I heard on good authority yesterday, that by 2016 based on current and planned closure rates of power stations, we'll only be able to meet 80% of the demand for electricty generation. It confirms what people in the industy are saying, what the media are picking up on more and more but government just sticks a finger in each ear and goes la la la la la, I'm not listening, we must burn less coal......

But still, at least we'll be hitting the carbon targets that the idiot Millipede signed us up for. Great.

If Labour win the next election and then the power cuts start, I wonder if they'll blame the previous government? Phucking idiots the lot of them.

jonc

Doesn't work that way. It's down to the wattage used not voltage supplied. Plus 230-240volts is more efficient since you can use thinner wires to carry the electricity.