Energy rationing. Energy famine. Are they even possible? It’s almost unthinkable in our bright, shiny, well-lit modern world that we’d have to get along without electricity. But it seems to be happening more and more often in densely populated urban areas that rely on centrally generated and distributed power. This time, it’s Scotland.
The latest power crisis in Europe started, apparently, with a busted conveyor belt at a coal-burning power plant in the city of Longannet. The Scottish Parliament is considering a new law that would allow that same plant to burn natural gas in order to meet base-load demands. Since when did it take an act of Parliament to keep the lights on?
What’s strange about the situation in Scotland is that the country appears to have plenty of energy generating capacity. It’s just that it doesn’t have much margin for error. And that’s the key risk in most of the world’s current power systems. When electricity is centrally generated and distributed, you naturally have energy “choke points” at which supply can be disrupted. And then when it gets dark, it stays that way until the sun comes up.
“The problems began last September when safety at the Hunterston B power station in Aryshire revealed higher-than-expected levels of cracking in the station’s boiler tubes. It has been shut ever since, leaving Scotland’s power supply dangerously exposed,” reports the Scotsman.
Daily Reckoning
