Blackouts

I'm now slightly less concerned about blackouts this winter as I am for next winter. We have had an unseasonably warm October and there is reduced demand for gas from Asia (due to ongoing zero covid lockdowns in China). This has left more gas supplies available than we expected. So the UK and Europe might be able to scrape by this year. However, even if we just get by on luck this year, what happens next year? There doesn't seem to be any longer term energy strategy at all. The country needs cheap, secure, reliable energy to grow the economy and provide for its citizens. Cheap energy is great for business. Where will that come from? The outlook seems to be uncertain and expensive supply, which is very bad for business.

As a digital marketing agency we cannot function without the internet and power into our laptops. Whilst we might be able to manage offline on battery power for a short period, any extended electricity outages would have to be dealt with by us driving to coffee shops in areas with power to plug-in and carry on. Let’s hope the plan to have regions of the UK take it in turns are widely dispersed to allow for this contingency plan to work.

Blackouts are something I associate with the wars of the past. I never imagined we'd be preparing for them in 2022/23! Our family and business will cope. I'll carry on getting orders out of the door even if it's by camping light and head torch! However, blackouts will be frightening and unsafe for many people. I was a Social Worker for 14 years and I can't imagine how the families I worked with would cope with enforced blackouts. It's another example of how our government disregard the needs of the most vulnerable because they're so out of touch with the lives of their consituents they just can't comprehend the impact (or they don't care).

A return to Dickensian Britain! Across the country lawyers will be dusting off lamps and candles as we revert back to our trusty libraries filled with White, Green and Red books. So long laptops and back to fountain pens and blotting paper - the legal profession that has barely evolved in the past century is uniquely placed to face blackout Britain. For a modern law firm however power outages cause some more serious issues. Remote devices with batteries mitigate much of the risk and large emergency battery packs would allow us to function for at least 24 hours without direct power. Multiple mobile networks mean that 4G and 5G services could replace hard wired internet services if required. Oh and we have plenty of candles for reading by as well!