Solar Feed in Tariff Scheme Update
The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) lost its High Court appeal last week, which means the Court of Appeal’s decision must stand. The Court of Appeal had earlier ruled that DECC’s attempt to cut the FiTs subsidy before the end of its consultation period was illegal.
But anyone hoping that this puts an end to the indecision surrounding the future of the UK Solar industry will be disappointed to read various articles in the press stating that DECC, rather than accepting the decision as final, is considering its options – including lodging an appeal with the Supreme Court, thus giving rise to many more months of irresolution and hesitancy from potential Solar purchasers.
On www.businessgreen.com last week, Energy and Climate Change secretary Chris Huhne warned solar PV installers not to promote the higher feed-in tariff, saying that there is no guarantee the higher rate (43p/kWh) will stand:
“……we cannot rule out the possibility that lower tariffs could be applied to installations which became eligible for FiTs on or after the proposed reference date. It is important consumers are aware of this.” Said Huhne.
A Government spokesperson was quoted as saying that the Government is very clear that from the 1st April 2012, all tariffs will be 21p/kWh.
Last November, DECC announced that as of the 12th December 2011, the Feed-in Tariff would be reduced to 21p/kWh on all installations, thus throwing the UK Solar industry into complete chaos and resulting in contracts being cancelled, redundancies and firms going out of business.
Friends of the Earth, Homesun and Solarcentaury then announced legal action against the Government over its decision. In December, the High Court made its ruling against the decision. DECC then mounted an appeal with the Court of Appeal, which was also unsuccessful. So far, legal costs have reached £66,400 and these could escalate if the Government is forced to pick up the legal costs of its opponents, which could happen if it loses an appeal with the Supreme Court.
We are continuing to keep an open mind and promote Solar energy as a viable and value for money option for the future of power generation. Riello UPS supplies AROS solar inverters from 1.5 to 500kW for residential and commercial applications. They are fully customisable and can be monitored via the equipment we supply. You can read more of our views on this here.
FiTs Appeal Decision Delayed
Following my post last week Update on the Feed in Tariff Scheme, I was fully expecting to be able to report on the results of the last Friday’s hearing at the Court of Appeal by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and to outline a positive outcome for the Solar installation industry as a whole.
Yet here we are, still in limbo and without a turning point decision either way.
The court hearing on Friday ended without a decision and it looks unlikely that one will be made for at least a week. According to DECC, however, it could be many weeks away.
Meanwhile, contracts are still being cancelled, redundancies made and businesses closing down because potential solar consumers are being put off by the indecision surrounding the future of the Feed-in Tariff Scheme.
The Solar industry desperately needs to be able to move forward without this hammer blow and months of uncertainty.
Even when the Court of Appeal reaches a decision, it will be weeks or even months before another court hearing will decide the industry’s fate. And if it were to allow DECC to appeal the High Court’s decision (that its proposed action to reduce the FiTs tariff, before the end of a consultation period, was wrong), there will be more months of instability and indecision.
Perhaps now it’s time for the industry to get behind a massive marketing push to promote the many other benefits of Solar. FiTs or no FiTs, there are still many reasons to invest in Solar technology and Solar as a renewable energy. Firstly, it’s a clean-source energy, with inherent environmental values. It gives consumers control over the production of their own electricity for their own consumption so they won’t be as much at the mercy of the security of national supply like the rest of us; it will eventually return more than the cost of investment through cheap energy production and by adding value to properties.
Alongside a wide range of power protection equipment, including UPS, switchgear and generators, Riello UPS supplies AROS solar inverters from 1.5 to 500kW for both residential and commercial application. They are also fully customisable and can be monitored via the equipment we supply.
New Year – New UPS
But how do you choose which one?
If you’ve already got a UPS installed, you’ll have a much better idea of what to look for when the time comes to upgrade or replace it. If not, it can be a daunting prospect, fraught with conflicting advice (if you read what’s available on the internet).
There has been a great deal of development within the power protection industry over the last few years, driven largely by the desire for greater energy efficiency and lower lifetime costs of UPS systems overall. Advances in technology and manufacturing that have resulted in smaller, more powerful products with fewer component parts have ably assisted this evolution (fewer components equals greater reliability as there are fewer parts to develop faults).
Choosing a UPS is too big a subject to cover in one, small blog post and it should also be a consultative one, so the aim here is not be provide a definitive answer but to offer key pointers that are important in the decision process and that, with the benefit of forethought, will greatly assist the procedure.
Firstly, categorise your business systems into ‘critical’, ‘essential’ and ‘nonessential’.
Decide which are crucial to the continuity of your business. Canteen services, for example, may be desirable but are not critical and do not, therefore, require UPS power protection. Printers are normally non-essential (unless yours is a printing business). In terms of computer systems, batch-processing may be essential but may not be critical, whereas online services will be critical for most retail-type businesses (banks and shops).
Matching UPS to application
Answering this question, either online or on paper, would run into a few hundred pages and end up as a book as it is a complex and involved process requiring specialist power protection expertise. As luck would have it, however, we have done just that and The Power Protection Guide – the design, installation and operation of uninterruptible power supplies was published in 2007. It’s available from Amazon, all good booksellers and our own estore. At 290 pages, it details all of the elements you need to think about in terms of matching UPS power protection to application, covering such items as criticality, UPS topologies and designs, UPS sizing and selection, online UPS designs, building in UPS reliability and resilience, batteries and alternative UPS back up solutions, UPS and generators, UPS monitoring and remote control, UPS logistics and installation, UPS warranties, maintenance and service. We’ve purposely incorporated a detailed index to make it easy to reference and appended some useful forms and worked examples. It is illustrated throughout with clear diagrams, charts and graphs. It’s a handy tool for anyone responsible for (or involved in) protecting and assuring delivery of critical power supplies for the continuity of their business – whatever business that might be.
Feed in Tariff Scheme latest
No clearer harmony over FiTs after landmark legal victory for environmental and solar groups.
In December 2011, a high court judge ruled that the proposed cuts to the Feed-in Tariff Scheme for solar power by the UK Government were unlawful and were already having a severely detrimental impact on the industry.
The case had been brought to the High Court by environmental organisation Friends of the Earth alongside solar groups following the Government’s decision to slash the tariff for small-scale solar projects (up to 4kW in size) from 43.30/kWh to 21p/kWh. The Government took the decision because the higher level tariff was attracting too much funding.
Mr Justice Mitting (the high court judge) ruled that implementing the proposal to cut the tariff in the middle of a consultation period was unlawful. He also refused permission for the Energy Secretary to appeal, however, DECC (Department for Energy and Climate Change) lodged with the Appeals Court and has a hearing this Friday (13th January).
Interestingly, Gaynor Hartnell, the Chief Executive of the Renewable Energy Association responded to the decision by warning that the impact of the ruling could further increase instability in the industry.
The implications of the judicial review mean that the original tariff (pre-December 12th 2011) cannot be changed until after the full eight-week parliamentary process, followed by a review of the responses, and then a 40-day period before the legislation takes effect. She was quoted in the press as saying that the majority of the Renewable Energy Association’s members were in favour of a reduction in the tariff and had called for a 25% reduction starting in March 2012.
For my part, I am in no way playing down the effect this whole debacle has had on the solar industry. I’ve witnessed first-hand the consequences for installers of cancelled contracts, redundancies and closed businesses, but I am also well aware of how much of the tariff (funded by consumers through their energy bills) has ended up in less deserving hands than those of individual electricity customers. I also think that founding a company solely on the basis of exploiting such a scheme – whether legitimately or not – is an extremely risky strategy. The fund was bound to run out at some point.
The good news is that for now solar is still very much a part of the renewables landscape. The Aros Solar Inverter product range covers both domestic and commercial/industrial applications from 1.5 to 500kW and includes a host of monitoring and customisation options. Aros Solar Inverters are accredited for use in the UK market and are available from Riello UPS Ltd.
The Facts about Grid Stability
In many areas, especially densely populated locations like large towns and cities, the national electricity grid and distribution networks are operating at (or close to) their limit. The addition and inclusion of more and more renewable energy sources is increasing the risk of instability – especially at peak demand.
Mains energy is known to be unstable, which is why a primary purpose of UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is to condition the voltage so that it is delivered to connected loads in a stable form.
Power Problems
Power problems associated with raw mains energy are defined as any variation in electrical power resulting in a malfunction or equipment failure. Power problems include: sags, surges, brownouts, electrical noise, spikes, transients and harmonics, alongside frequency variations and complete blackouts.
Part of a power continuity plan is to assess power quality, which can be done by connecting portable power monitoring devices to three or single-phase mains power supplies to record disturbances over a certain period of time. The results of such a test will assist in providing the right power protection system, with the highest possible levels of reliability and resilience and power conditioning.
It’s not only problems brought about by external mains power, however, that can cause problems for connected loads. Certain types of power load that are connected internally to the site’s electricity distribution system, such as motor loads (lifts, mechanical machinery), certain types of lighting (Tungsten) and air-conditioning, can cause problems for equipment upstream without the correct filtering and power conditioning. Certain loads may be active and others reactive and this too can create problems for upstream and downstream loads.
It is because of these facts that grid supplied electricity stability cannot be relied upon and that internal loads differ in their characteristics that selecting and specifying the right UPS topology and technology is so important, as is installation, monitoring of it once installed and on-going maintenance.
Comprehensive information about power monitoring and conditioning, plus grid stability can be found in The Power Protection Guide – the design, installation and operation of uninterruptible power supplies. Visit our website for details of the products and services we supply.
A UPS is the Ultimate Voltage Optimiser
Since the European Union introduced measures to harmonise the single-phase mains supply voltage across countries throughout the union, many large electricity consumers have found that much of the electrical equipment they use to run their businesses is operating inefficiently and thus wasting considerable sums of money each year on energy bills.
Companies offering voltage optimisation technology to stem the problem have popped up but can they really be recommended for mission critical applications and is such technology really the best option?
Prior to 1995, variation existed (country-to-country) between the single-phase mains supply voltage from 220, 230 or 240Vac 50Hz. It was down to manufacturers of electrical equipment to ensure their products were optimised for each country or European region. A transition period between 1995 and 2008 saw a Europe-wide change in which 230Vac became the nominal standard (prior to which the UK operated at 240Vac). Three-phase mains nominal voltage was harmonised to 400Vac in the UK.
When powered from a higher or lower mains voltage, switched-mode power supply (SMPS) loads run at less than their optimal switching frequency, which results in losses in the form of heat and noise, thus making them inefficient. In a large organisation, operating several hundred or even thousands of such products, the resultant waste in energy bills can be huge. The purpose of a voltage optimiser is to provide steady-state 230Vac or 400Vac supply to ensure optimal load voltage efficiency.
Voltage optimisers are designed with built-in automatic bypass to prevent supply disruptions to loads but I question the advisability of this – especially for mission critical loads?
Firstly, UPS protect connected loads from breaks in mains supply AND from mains-borne power problems such as sags, surges, brownouts and so on, which a voltage optimisers cannot do as effectively.
Secondly, although most online UPS are installed as 230Vac (single-phase) or 400Vac (three-phase) output, they can be configured manually to provide 220/230/240Vac or 380/400/415Vac. As the output is digitally generated, loads are automatically supplied with the level of voltage and current required to perform at their optimal frequency. UPS also provide battery back up and/or connection to an alternative energy source (such as a generator) so loads are protected in the event of a mains failure. Today’s online UPS can also achieve operating efficiency figures of 96% and higher (if operated in certain power modes).
It is true that voltage optimisers costs less than UPS but they do not provide the higher levels of power protection required by the critical loads that run today’s always on businesses. In my view, UPS are a far superior – and ultimately cost-effective option.
Businesses to face rising energy costs – no matter what
UK industry running scared
The London School of Economics carried out research recently on behalf of energy provider npower, which concluded that the cost of energy for businesses will continue to rise no matter what policy or fuel mix the UK adopts.
The report: Demanding Times for Energy in the UK examines four scenarios for the energy market and couldn’t find one where prices don’t go up. Scenarios included the UK’s current intent to use a balanced energy mix; Government backtracking on decarbonisation, which (it says) could spark a dash for gas; an investor shortfall due to a lack of faith in Government policy would prompt an even bigger leap in emissions versus current policy plans and the fourth scenario analysed the spiralling costs of carbon capture and storage, renewable energy costs rising and nuclear power being more expensive than expected. The report’s authors are reported as stating that prices look likely to rise in all scenarios and that it had been hard to find one in which they wouldn’t.
Although worrying, it’s understandable given the size of investment required to build an infrastructure to meet the demands of today - and tomorrow.
A survey of energy buyers (reported on energylivenews.com in November) stated that energy prices could sour by 60% over the next decade. Nine out of ten respondents expect wholesale prices to rise by 2021 to £80 per megawatt hour, which is more than 60% higher than current levels. The news site was accused of scaremongering by commentators on the article, one in particular pointed out that 60% over ten years is equivalent to a 5.4% rise per annum, which is only just a little over the current inflation rate.
No amount of alternative persuasion, however, could stop Lynemouth-based mining firm, Rio Tinto from planning to close its aluminium smelter in the town because of rising energy costs. Upcoming carbon legislation was blamed as a key factor behind the closure of the Northumberland factory, which employs 515 people.
Carbon floor price and scaremongering aside, business and industry is very concerned about rising energy costs and thus reducing energy usage. Modern UPS are designed to be as energy efficient as possible but they can also help because they make an ideal voltage optimiser and can help reduce the current drawn by downstream loads alongside stabilising voltage.
If you’d like more information on this or our range of energy efficient, eco UPS.
Datacentre UPS – DCD London 2011
Modularity, modularity, modularity
Datacentre Dynamics (DCD London 2011) (which took place last week 30th Nov – 1st Dec) was all about modularity with two key solutions dominating in terms of power protection: containerisation and modular UPS. Both offer a perfect solution to the problem of acquiring enough capacity in as short a time as possible to meet the power needs of today and provide scalability and flexibility for tomorrow.
The drivers behind modularity in the data centre are the burgeoning move towards cloud services; the residue of the credit crunch (meaning there is less capital funding available to build new bricks and mortar data centres); and the fact that service providers have realised they do not actually need (nor do they want) to build their own data centres.
Modularity in the form of a container, enables data centre capacity to be met in a very short time – often a matter of weeks rather than months. The speed of deployment for a standard 20 or 60 foot ISO container is around six to twelve weeks (depending upon the demands of the installation, whether building works need to be carried out, such as the creation of a concrete apron if necessary).
Containers are also portable and location flexible. They can be moved and located to sites where a building project would be prohibitive and are not tied to real estate so they can be moved again if required. This makes them ideal for the secondary market of short-term rental. Modular, containerised data centres can also be highly efficient and cost effective and are standardised to ensure there is little requirement for customisation.
We supply our UPS products for containerised installations in conjunction with specialist resellers and power technology manufacturers such as Elcos generators. In such cases, the application includes UPS and energy storage devices (flywheel UPS or battery set), switchgear and electrical system in a standard-sized container. It’s a fully contained power protection system, offering ease and speed of delivery and installation and is ideal for projects where space is at a premium. It’s fully self-contained and can be moved and relocated if required.
Recognising the need for modularity within conventional bricks and mortar data centres, we also provide modular and scalable UPS specifically for mission critical environments where growth is anticipated but requires a flexible approach because how quickly it will happen or how fast are difficult to accurately predict.
Riello’s Multi Guard modular UPS has been specifically designed to be scalable, functional and reliable. Capacity ranges from 15kVA to 120kVA. It offers a cabinet design, similar to a server cabinet, in which up to eight 15kVA UPS modules are fitted to offer maximum availability, redundancy and protection for mission critical applications, such as data centres and networks. Each 15kVA module is a fully functioning UPS in its own right, so each can be easily hot-swapped for service and repair without load disruption.
Many people fear the lights will go out
According to a survey published by the IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology), a large majority of us fear that the lights will go out as the future demand for electrical energy far outweighs supply. 90% of respondents to the survey said they were concerned about fuel shortages.
According to an article on EnergyLiveNews.com this month, 492 people were questioned at the British Science Festival and a staggering 86% of them said they would be prepared to adapt their energy usage behaviour in order to take advantage of variable tariffs such as time-of-day prices.
Paul Davies, Head of Policy at the IET is quoted as saying: “The UK faces the twin problems of energy security and carbon reduction. The engineering solutions to these problems, such as the introduction of smart metering and electric vehicles, are bound to have a significant impact on the ways people use and pay for energy.”
Happily, 98% of respondents said it was important that some of their energy should come from renewable sources, indicating that energy matters. Mr Davies said that the results demonstrated that many people are aware of the issues and what they might mean to them.
It’s good that people understand the issues and it comes as no surprise that they do. Large energy users are already negotiating hard with their suppliers to even secure the number of Mega Watts supply they require. I know of data centres, for example, that have asked for 2MW and only been afforded 1MW by their utility provider. But being aware of the issues is one thing; knowing what you can do about them is another. We are limited as to what we can do about energy supply to ensuring our supplies are UPS protected and that we have some kind of alternative, temporary back up, such as diesel generators. If you want to know more, there is loads of information on our website. You will also find information about the wide range of Elcos generators that we supply.
UPS Battery Charging – Important and not easy
Batteries play a crucial role in UPS installations; providing a source of power for short-duration ride through for a short power failure, or until a back up generator starts up. They can also be linked together into battery strings offering extended run time for longer duration mains power cuts. The most commonly installed UPS battery in use today is VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid).
VRLA batteries incorporate thin plates engineered in parallel to provide the greatest conducting surface possible to deal with high rate currents provided by attached loads. Their design, however, ensures that they have a finite design life of five to ten years for UPS batteries and the way they are charged and maintained can have a significant impact on that. One failed or weak battery in a battery string can compromise the whole UPS system.
As they approach the end of their design life, there is often a need to mix new UPS batteries with old in a battery string and this can cause problems if they are not correctly monitored and maintained.
In a transformer-based UPS, the charging current supplied by the rectifier is load dependent. The UPS can provide additional current for charging where its output power is less than its nominal rating and within the limits of its maximum charging current. However, high recharge currents are known to damage batteries so the rectifier/charger will:
- Limit the maximum current for recharging to 15% of the battery Ah rating.
- Provide 80% of the recharging power with limited current and increased voltage and the remaining 20% at a lower constant voltage, known as float voltage.
This is the classic and recommended way to charge UPS batteries. But many UPS battery failures are caused by over charging, which results in battery dry out. Even a small float overvoltage or high rate charging current can lead to increased gas pressure in the battery, which will result in electrolyte escaping through relief valves. Once it’s escaped, this electrolyte cannot be replaced.
(note: the above is a paragraph taken from The Power Protection Guide - the design, installation and operation of uninterruptible power supplies, which can be purchased from our estore or Amazon UK)
UPS battery chargers rely on a constant temperature (25 degrees centigrade) to provide a constant floating voltage. So the ambient temperature around where the batteries are located must remain constant. In fact, the whole ethos of UPS battery charging is to maintain everything at a constant, constant current, constant voltage, constant temperature.
If you'd like to read more about UPS power protection, products and equipment, visit Riello AROS UPS.
Google Breaks Silence over Energy Use
Mounting speculation forced Google into revealing one of its best kept secrets in September: how much electricity its huge data centre and computing facilities actually consume.
In the past, Google has been secretive about its energy use. However, its continued silence lead to speculation and a report in The Sunday Times in 2009 claiming that every single Google search generates the same amount of carbon emissions as boiling a kettle of water for tea, so it has been forced to shed light on the issue to silence the theorists and dispel this inaccurate speculation.
In actual fact the figures Google has revealed illustrate that the world is using less energy as a result of the billions of operations carried out in Google data centres. Google states that people should consider things like the amount of Petrol and vehicle emissions saved when someone conducts a Google search rather than driving to the library, for example.
Google’s data centres all around the world continuously draw almost 260 million Watts of electricity in order to run Google searches, YouTube views, Gmail messaging and display ads on all it services. That is about a quarter of the output of one nuclear power plant – continuously! This does, however, include all Google operations worldwide, including the energy required to run its campuses and office parks but it’s enough (say utility companies) to power all the homes in one city of 100,000 to 200,000 houses.
Actually, if you think about the amount of business that is done and other activities that are performed using Google, everyday, 24/7, 365 days of the year, one quarter of one nuclear power plant is actually economical considering the alternatives i.e., all of that activity being done manually.
According to Google, people conduct more than 1 billion searches a day alongside numerous other downloads and queries but the average energy consumption per user is relatively small (about 180 watt hours per month, the equivalent of running a 60w light bulb for 3 hours). Google claims its energy use is around 50% of most other data centres and 25% of the energy it used in 2010 came from renewables. It is aiming for that figure to rise to 35% by 2012.
Google has invested nearly $US1 billion in renewable energy projects, including wind farms in North Dakota, California and Oregon, solar projects in California and Germany, and the beginning of a transmission system off the East Coast of America to foster the construction of offshore wind farms.
For more information on energy efficient UPS and flywheel UPS for data centres, visit our website.
World’s Largest Bridge Solar Installation Sited in London
Earlier in October, work began on Blackfriars Bridge in London to install 4,400 solar photovoltaic panels, which when complete will make it one of the world’s largest solar bridges. It will also be the largest solar array in London and will cost around £7 million.
Blackfriars Bridge is also part of Blackfriars Station and was originally built in 1886 in the iconic age of steam trains. Interesting then that it should be getting this new-age enhancement. All in the name of saving energy, according to Network Rail (as quoted on Energy News Live last week). London has an average of approximately 1500 sunshine hours annually and the Solar panels will generate around 900,000 kWh or electricity, about half of the station’s annual energy requirements.
Located in the centre of London and spanning the river Thames, the bridge is an ideal location for the solar array as it is not overshadowed by taller buildings making it perfect for capturing the maximum amount of solar energy.
AROS SOLAR TECHNOLOGY provides a wide range of solar inverters for commercial, industrial and residential solar installations. For more information visit our website.
Could you generate your own power in an emergency?
Could you generate your own power in an emergency?
The technology to do it is here. It’s about getting the balance right and making a good business case.
Having intensified the debate over nuclear energy, the Fukushima disaster in Japan has also brought into focus the issue of power protection and how businesses need to consider how they might generate electricity from their own energy sources in the future; particularly in the event that a major power facility becomes inoperable. Yes - it is extremely unlikely that anything on the scale of what happened in Japan could happen here in the UK; but disasters do occur, and can have serious consequences for power plants and sub-stations.
Take the 2007 floods that affected much of Gloucestershire, South West England and threated to take out the Castlemeads sub-station at Walham in Gloucestershire. So serious an issue was it that it prompted a discussion by the Government’s emergency planning committee. Homes and businesses in the area were affected but thankfully a major disaster was averted, the plant was saved and disruption temporary.
In 2005, the Carlisle floods prompted the Government to ask electricity network companies to assess flood risk to major substations and many have since put measures in place to be better prepared to deal with such disasters.
Installing UPS power protection, alongside additional runtime batteries, would have enabled many businesses outside of the actual flood zones to continue, or at the very least, reduced the load on the power source to protect critical equipment. Onsite generators (had they been installed) would have extended that continuity for days, in many cases, rather than merely hours.
It will be a while before the lessons of Fukushima can be fully appreciated; for recovery from the disaster to be fully dealt with, and investigations completed. But what we do know is that reliance on electrical energy by the Western world is more crucial than ever and that we are all vulnerable to disaster.
UPS market growth set to continue
Earlier this month, I read an article in EETimes Europe, which reported significant growth figures in the UPS market in 3Q 2010.
Data from market analyst IMS Research shows that the recovery of the global market for uninterruptible power supplies is picking up, largely due to increased sales in Asia and other developing markets. The figures for this year are 12.9% higher than those posted in 3Q 2009.
The article went on to say that the research showed that recovery in North America is in the small to medium business sector, where single-phase UPS (typically used in data centres and server rooms) is set to end the year 15% higher than in 2009.
The market in Europe, Middle East and Africa has not improved to the degree of those in Asia and the Americas, and UPS revenues in these locations (according to IMS Research) remain roughly the same as in 2009. The article cites changes in the exchange rate and Europe’s debt problems as reasons for this. However, it does say that double-digit growth is expected to continue into 2011.
Riello UPS has experienced consistent growth for the past five years, across all of our markets, not just in the UK but I would say that growth in Asia is to do with market development rather than a slow-down in Europe due to the debt crisis. Five years ago, the UK was a developing market in terms of business and power continuity, as business leaders woke up to the realisation that downtime (no matter how limited) could not be tolerated in a growing market. It’s the same in Asia – and it also explains why SMEs are a UPS growth sector in the Americas.
New Zealand’s capital city in the dark about power protection
New Zealand has had its share of disaster this year. An earthquake rocked the South Island in September 2010, damaging buildings and flattening parked cars. In November, a lone contractor accidentally dug through two major power lines in the capital city of Wellington plunging its business district into darkness and leaving 4000 utility customers without power.
Traffic lights were out and many major websites down, including Kiwibank, New Zealand Post and Trade Me (an online auction business).
What’s interesting (and reported concisely in the NZherald.co.nz) is how various businesses were affected. Aside from the major bank’s website being down, retailers were forced to shut up shop and turn customers away for fear that they would steal stock from their darkened shops – even though, in many, computers and cash registers were still operating (presumably because they had UPS protection). Cafes too were forced to close on their busiest day of the week with no means of heating water to make drinks. A bakery lost the equivalent of £800 worth of baking that was in the oven at the time. The Trade Me online auction had 14,000 listings with 3,500 sellers due to close during the duration of the power failure.
Newly elected Mayor Celia Wade-Brown immediately called an investigation into how this could possibly happen in a capital city and is quoted as saying that she would “investigate whether the city needed an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to provide constant emergency power.”
Unfortunately, disaster cannot be avoided but unnecessary downtime can. Shops, for example, that have UPS power protection for tills and computers, should also have emergency lighting. There’s little point protecting point-of-sale equipment if people can’t try on clothes if the mains power goes down. Without emergency lighting, you might as well shut up shop.
Lastly, the question should not be “whether” UPS protection is required but rather “what sort of UPS protection do we need in the business district of our capital city”.
The National Grid has a Secret Life?
Well it did until Tuesday 26th October 2010 when BBC Four broadcast the first of a three-part series The Secret Life of the National Grid, which focuses on the UK’s electric power network and drives home just how completely dependent upon it we are. The next episode is on Tuesday 2nd November, BBC Four 9pm (and again on the 9th). If you missed the first episode, here are some interesting facts (produced with kind permission from the BBC):
- Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin promised a land of cheap and abundant electricity in 1926 with the Electricity Supply Act and establishment of the National Grid to connect 122 of the most efficient power stations in the country
- Prior to that, electricity was generated and supplied in Britain by disparate private companies. It was extremely expensive: keeping just five bulbs going for a day cost a week’s wages for the average person.
- In 1920, only 6% of British homes had electricity.
- The Central Electricity Board was one of the first public corporations and set about laying 4,000 miles of transmission line and cable across Britain (the equivalent distance from John O’Groats to Lands End four and a half times).
- Classical architect Sir Reginald Blomfield was brought in to design the electricity pylons and produced a concept inspired by ancient Egypt.
- By the start of World War Two, two-thirds of homes in Britain were connected to the grid.
- Initially, homes only had light switches, but by the mid 1950s, over half of consumers had sockets too.
- The biggest driver for fitting plug points in the 1950s was the electric iron.
- Electricity Boards actively promoted the use of electrical appliances, such as cookers and immersion heaters. Electricity showrooms became a feature on the high street.
- Mass manufacture transformed living standards and heralded the start of the consumer society.
- In the post war period up to the 1970s, manufacturing accounted for almost 40% of Britain’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and much of it relied on electrically-driven production lines.
- There are few parts of our lives today that are not plugged into the Grid (computers, elevators, air-conditioning, iPods, TVs).
- As Britain has become increasingly dependent on a centralised electricity system, it has made us vulnerable to whoever has the power to pull the plug. This was evidenced in the 1970s with the Electricity Supply Workers’ strike followed by the Miners’ strike, which culminated in the infamous three-day-week and Edward Heath’s election defeat in 1974.
- Today, coal (most of it imported) generates 28% of Britain’s electricity.
- Britain had the first commercial nuclear power station in the world (Calder Hall) in 1956.
- Gas now generates 45% of our power.
You can also watch the program on BBC iPlayer.
Older entries can be found in the archive.