Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach
I guess having electricity when you need it is sooooo last century … UK families will have to get used to “only using power when it was available”. That constant electricity at home was dangerous anyhow, the unending hum of the wires can drive a man so insane that the only way to cure him is to make him head of the National Grid …
UK persons … comments?
w.
[Update, for those who believe the above is a faked article, I had Green Sand send me a photo and another scan of the actual newspaper. ~ ctm]
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Here in BC we’ll likely be in the same situation in the near future as the watermelons seem to be in charge. BC has huge hydroelectric power generation potential (all those mountains and gravitational potential energy), but the moonbat government has decided that no more dams will be built and we won’t have any nuclear power plants. Instead we will be using “renewable” power which means unreliable unsightly and noisy bird blenders (those Bald Eagles are eating far too many salmon) and “smart” power meters. The latter “innovation” is likely to drive me to install my own generator as I don’t like having an overly complex device controlling my house power nor do I want anyone to decide to limit how much current I can draw from the power grid.
In the 1950’s N. America and Europe had widely available very reliable electric supplies and it’s hard to believe that half a century later this excellent system would be dismantled for religious reasons. At least in the US there is a strong government tradition of separation of church and state so the watermelon lunatic cult is not likely to get very far.
From the standpoint of controlling medical costs, intermittent power has numerous benefits. Keeping a patient on a ventilator in an ICU is one of the highest costs/patient day in a hospital and loss of power for a few hours/day will free up all of those expensive ICU beds. Also, people on home oxygen from O2 concentrators are more likely to die when they’re without power as are people on home dialysis. All of this would add up to considerable savings for the British NHS.
The only positive aspect of this idiocy is that it will greatly decentralize electricity generation. I can afford to install my own generator running on natural gas but would prefer to not have yet another household machine to look after. Where I live has enough sun in the summer to produce my electrical needs if I covered my roof with solar panels and installed a large battery system to provide power at night; interesting from a technical point of view but I’d far prefer to buy my power from someone else. When that power supplier has undergone a bizarre religious conversion, then it’s time to take matters into one’s own hands.
To tea, or not to tea, that is the question.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup
Why save a planet if we can’t have a celebratory cuppa?
Smart grids and appliances rule. 😉
Clive,
Thanks for posting the PDF. Much appreciated.
Re: , March 4, 2011 at 3:32 pm
Green Sand, thanks, that’s exactly what I was looking for. Unbelievable that they are really considering heading in that direction.
Clive
Thanks. I used electricity and nothing came up.Then I used Holliday and sure enough
there was the article.
“It does not exist online. Doesn’t anyone check before posting these things?”
Why do people think that if something isn’t online it doesn’t exist?
Anyone who knows much about Britain should have no difficulty believing that this kind of idiocy would happen there; if this was an article talking about building a hundred new nuclear plants, that would be an obvious fake, but two governments have now chosen to push ‘renewable’ power over new power plant construction which would probably cost a fraction of what they’re planning to spend on ‘renewable’.
Absent major changes, the lights will go out in a few years. Reality can’t be ignored forever.
“Now I’m picking that most people on this list are for free markets and free enterprise. In which case they should be for differential pricing according to supply and demand.”
Yeah, and we could introduce haggling in supermarkets; everyone could argue with the person at the till until they agree on a price for each item that they’re buying.
The reason why we don’t want ‘differential pricing according to supply and demand’ is the same reason why we don’t haggle over every item at the supermarket checkout: it’s insanely, absurdly, stupidly inefficient. No-one in their right mind wants to have to check the current price of electricity before they put the kettle on because it’s a colossal waste of time.
Having a few different fees at different times of day makes some kind of sense, because it doesn’t require much more effort on the part of the users (‘power costs less at night so I’ll put the dryer on before I go to bed’). But dynamic price changes so no-one can use power without haggling over the price every single time? Insane.
Jim Hodgen says: March 4, 2011 at 10:56 am
… a chap named Cromwell …
ABRIDGE, v.t. To shorten. When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for people to abridge their king, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. – Oliver Cromwell
Mooloo:
‘If [people] chose not to buy “smart” appliances, it is not the fault of the electricity suppliers or the grid.’
People with limited funds and perfectly good “dumb” appliances should not be penalized because they can’t buy brand-new stuff at the drop of the word “green” by the likes of Al Gore.
For those that haven’t or can’t play the original recording of the interview on the Today programme the following is verbatim or very close:
The grid’s going to be a very different system in 2020 2030.
We keep thinking about we want it to be there and provide power when we need it.
It’s going to be a much smarter system then, were going to have to change our own behaviour and consume it when it’s available and available cheaply.
The telegraph report does put quotation marks around some paraphrasing which is a bit naughty or possibly just sloppy, but it largely the same statement.
Clive says: March 4, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Thank you for the links. Here are a few more:
BBC’s Radio 4:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9410000/9410
Where Holliday did indeed say what he has been quoted as saying… unfortunately, the clip ends right there, so additional context is unavailable…. however, the Royal Society of Engineers did record and post the entire speech and the QA afterwards here:
http://raeng.tv/default.aspx?item=47
I’ve not listened to it yet, but anyone who wants to discuss what he said and meant should probably listen first.
To all the doubters … First of all, perhaps it has not occurred to you that not all newspapers (least of all the U.K. Telegraph) put all their material online for all readers (at no cost).
This article did appear on page 14 of the March 2nd edition of the Telegraph e-paper – which suggests to me that it may well have been made available to paid-up digital subscribers only. If you scroll back through this thread to:
You’ll see how he succeeded in acquiring a pdf of the article which he indicated he has posted for your convenience at:
http://members.shaw.ca/ocl2/UKpower.pdf
Furthermore, Google can be your friend. That’s how I found:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9410000/9410485.stm
in which Holliday was speaking on BBC 4’s “Today” program (on March 1). Towards the end of the 2:45 interview (during which he had waxed euphorically over all the jobs that would be created), Holliday can be heard saying (exactly as quoted in the article):
“The grid is going to be a very different system in 2020, 2030. We keep thinking that we want it to be there and provide power when we need it. It is going to be much smarter than that.
“We are going to have to change our own behaviour and consume it when it’s available and available cheaply”.
You’re welcome – and your gracious apologies will now be accepted, I’m sure.
HOLLIDAY INTERVIEW WAS NOT FAKE !
The Telegraph article refers to an interview on March 1, 2011 on BBC 4 by Holliday.
See time stamp 0846 below that mentions the Holliday interview…
or follow the link….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9410000/9410170.stm
Today Weekdays 6-9am and Saturdays 7-9am
BBC News Today
Radio 4 Home
The World at One PM
The World Tonight
Broadcasting House
BBC News
Page last updated at 07:43 GMT, Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Today: Tuesday 1st March
The Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, has repeated his determination to cling onto power, declaring that his people love him. Also on the programme, new claims that paranormal activity is nothing more than our minds playing tricks.
To speed up the loading time for this running order, we have replaced the audio with links. To hear the reports, interviews and discussions, just click on the links.
Get in touch via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.0615
0839
Business news with Adam Shaw.
0842
In the second of our series bringing ministers face-to-face with those affected by the cuts, our chief political correspondent Norman Smith took the Universities minister David Willetts to a sixth form college in East London to examine the impact of spending reductions on the aspirations of young people.
0846
The UK is about to embark on a huge process of change in the way it produces, transports and uses energy. Steve Holliday, chief executive of National Grid, explains how 2011 is the crucial decision point for investment decisions that will have huge long-term implications for the UK’s energy policies.
0850
Thousands of Libyan refugees have fled to Egypt, Tunisia and Niger during the recent unrest. Baroness Amos, head of the UN’s Office of the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, outlines her call for Libya’s neighbouring countries to allow the passage of refugees across their borders.
Most information is available to you if you take the time to look for it… kbray.
WOW !!
I feel like an instant member of:
“The Willis Eschenbach Online Defense League”
Willis, you have automatically generated a loyal group of supporters who will gladly fight for you and defend you. It’s an intuitive thing from the heart. I love your work. kbray.
Personally I find it hard to believe that anyone could believe that this was faked. It’s exactly the kind of thing that the moralizing sustainability wizards spout all the time.
MarkG says:
March 4, 2011 at 9:18 pm
“…Yeah, and we could introduce haggling in supermarkets; everyone could argue with the person at the till until they agree on a price for each item that they’re buying…”
Why not? I got a good pair of pants and a shirt for an empty bottle of scotch in Columbo Sri Lanka.
It is not only the U.K. ….in Belgium a warning is issued for overconsumption and the trouble that gives to the old grid-system….
Same in Spain……..
The problem is that the whole grid is not made for such a grow in consumers and consumption…..
tie that together with wrong ( or none at all..) investements…and voila :
Hi Willis.
I always enjoyed your articles but have spent a frustrating hour trying to find the link to the story as many other readers have.
Thanks to Clive I have the link but finding it is still a real pain!
Clive says:
March 4, 2011 at 8:32 pm
It was easy to find for you doubters. Go here:
http://dailytelegraph.newspaperdirect.com/screenprint/viewer.aspx
Type “electricity” in the search window. Page 14.
Here is a screen capture I got:
http://members.shaw.ca/ocl2/UKelectricity.jpg
Here is a PDF of same from their printing service.
http://members.shaw.ca/ocl2/UKpower.pdf
In future please link the page or website to remove any doubts about authenticity, even with the above links I am still puzzled by no author or an alarm or outrage in the UK to this story?
It smacks of jackboot to the throat authoritarianism right out of George Oswell’s novel 1984. I swear if scared the hell out of me, then totally pissed me off, is there no limit to this green madness?
Thanks everyone for all the information.When I originally saw the article -I could not find anything on this. All I wanted was a source. With hoaxes it isn’t the outrageous ones that work- it is the believable ones. It isn’t just a lack of wind that shuts down wind power.High winds shut them down.Ice storms tear em up. And then according to the article the plan would be to use overhead cabling –LOL. Doesn’t sound like a smartgrid at all. Sounds more like a lot of needless pain and misery for many folks.
Actually, we do “haggle over every item at the supermarket”.
There are supermarkets here that I don’t go into on a bet–poor quality it the most common reason, high price a close second. I buy some items at one store, pthjer items at another. Some things I do without.
To the person who wished for the 2d Amendment: Our Constitution merely affirms our right to bear arms, and restrains gov’t from infringing upon it (albeit poorly). The right to self defense is a “natural or God-given right”, and we brought the concept with us from England.
There is still coal at Newcastle, is there not? And many other places, should one choose to look. Put some miners back to work, and ditch the current batch of [snip] and even if the sun sets, the lights must go on.
For a modest proposal, Irish babies have quite a bit of tallow, and potatoes can be distilled into a fine fuel, saving it for the electric cars that would otherwise drain power.
Yeah, they are running the ‘smart meters’ and ‘smart grids’ con here in Australia too. While there is nothing wrong with having a simple, tiered pricing structure that matches regular demand fluctuations (such as off peak rates at night, which are already in place, hence people have off-peak hot water tanks) – this is a whole new ballgame, which is designed to cover up inadequate supplies and rake in more cash.
It simultaneously covers up lack of planning for new infrastructure and clouds the issue of wasteful and inefficient ‘renewables’ being forced on us.
It will mean that power will cost more when we need it most, simple as that. I am yet to be convinced in what way this is a step forward for our quality of life. How does paying more for less improve the lot of the masses?
The AGW scam has a lot of sub-scams hanging off it, and this is one of them.
Jim Hodgen says:
Wasn’t there a chap by the name of Cromwell that sorted out the last batch of tower-dwellers with similar aspirations to make the serfs get on with accepting their proper place in life?
Personally, my vote goes to Guido Fawkes (the one from 1605). Come back, all is forgiven.
Ken Hall says:
March 4, 2011 at 1:10 pm
How the hell will we keep our food frozen? This will be a public health nightmare.
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The enviroGreens are dedicated to save the world, not humans.