Fury at power cut that brought Britain to its knees: Government launches probe into mystery simultaneous failure of wind farm and gas-fired power station as officials insist there is ‘no evidence’ of a cyber attack
Any advanced economy depends on stable and reliable energy supply for its critical functions. Hospitals have emergency power gensets in order to make sure that power cuts can be patched over. So have other pieces or critical infrastructure. In OECD economies, those emergency systems have been reduced to life-critical services as power is assumed to be very stable. History confirms this assumption. Renewable Energy sources have brought a lot of instability into the system. As long as those sources were a minor component of the total system, the stable sources were able to patch over the inconsistencies of wind and solar power with relative ease. As wind and solar proportions grow, so does the strain on the grid and the true impact becomes felt. There will be more of what UK residents had to experience in the future and this will bring up questions. Renewables and stable electricity is possible – but it has a price. This price must be honestly communicated – if we continue to patch over cracks in the system, the cracks will grow bigger and one day cause real daylong cuts. The jug goes to the well until it breaks.
Energy watchdog Ofgem has demanded an urgent report from National Grid after a major power cut yesterday caused travel chaos and cut electricity for almost one million people in England and Wales.
