-Caveat Lector- Euphorian spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.
------- Note from Euphorian: First the cows, then the sheep, next the fish, and lo! and behold!, the juice. For those of you who don't speak English, a "torch" is a flashlight. AER ------- To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk Inquiry called after power cut misery Two days after storm, up to 65,000 homes without electricity and train services still subject to delays and cancellations Helen Carter Tuesday October 29 2002 The Guardian Brian Wilson, the energy minister is to investigate the performance of energy suppliers after a million homes were left powerless following the weekend's storms. Up to 65,000 homes were still without electricity yesterday, according to the Energy Association, with East Anglia and the west and east Midlands the worst hit. Mr Wilson wants an immediate review as to how companies performed in restoring power. The industry watchdog, Energywatch, has criticised some suppliers for failing to keep customers informed. In East Anglia 26,000 households were still without electricity yesterday afternoon as engineers from 24Seven continued to work to restore the supply. Candles and torches were scarce as people tried to find alternative sources of light and heat. South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon described the company's name as "a bit of a joke in the circumstances. "They seem to have done a rather poor job in dealing with this emergency," he said. "People were left in the dark - literally and metaphorically." Despite criticism that 24Seven's tree trimming programme was behind schedule, the company insisted it was not. Richard Robinson, of 24Seven's parent company London Electricity Group, said: "Some 92% of our customers now have had electricity restored. We have 500 field staff working on the problem - including additional sup port from France and Ireland. "Although we are very sorry that some people are still without power, in 1987 this problem went on for three weeks. In outlying areas it can take between five and six hours to restore the supply." He said it would be astronomically expensive to put the cables underground. "We are doing as much as we can," he added. "As some of the gusts were up to 95mph there is little doubt that the tree trimming programme would not have made much difference - trees would still have fallen." He said the company had no regrets about its name, which suggests efficiency and accessibility. "Our technical staff are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he added. "Staff have been terrific, working in the wet and traipsing through ponds to restore power." But customer Jojo Moyes, an author who lives with her two young children near Saffron Walden, Essex, was angered that her family were without power for more than 48 hours. "It is ridiculous to think that in this day and age the supplier is not able to restore electricity any quicker," she said. "Our power went off at 9am on Sunday and at first we assumed it would be back on within five or six hours. "But before dark we decided to locate the candles and torches. It was a nightmare trying to feed two small children and put them to bed without power. "My youngest child has a cold so we had to bundle him up in the car, go to my mother's house and decamp there for the night. We have no gas supply in the village so we are completely dependent on electricity. The hardware store has sold out of candles and torches. "We had to use tealights to light the house, but my 20-month-old son just wanted to stick his fingers into them. Luckily we have an Aga to cook with. "Our electricity supplier TXU Energi said the damage was a lot worse than in the 1987 storms. It has made us realise how dependent we are on these companies. "We are now thinking of buying a generator as we wouldn't want to go through two nights like that again." The power was finally restored yesterday morning. A TXU Energi spokesman admitted it was a bad time for customers - but the priority had been to get it sorted out as quickly and safely as possible. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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