Subscribe to this blog's feedElectricity generators have been talking up the looming "energy gap" that could see the UK run short of generating capacity. The gap may be ten years in the future but the need is urgent: the industry has to start work on its new capacity now, in the knowledge that no-one has ever lost money betting that a British infrastructure project would be delayed.
It's hard to imagine the middle east, with all its resources, as being short of power, but a colleague of Disconnector's hears that is exactly the case. The Kuwait government has delayed investing in new electricity generation for so long that the demand-supply margin is just a few per cent - and veering perilously close to zero.
To stop the system from collapsing, Kuwait TV stations are now broadcasting a constant update on the reserve margin. When it gets to danger point, additional warnings entreat viewers to switch off unnecessary appliances and adjust the airconditioning to reduce the power drain.
So far it is working, and no doubt temporary power supplies can be added to bridge the gap to new construction. Nevertheless, it's a monument to poor forward planning and a bad way to get across messages on energy effciency.
It couldn't happen here - could it?
