Tuesday 1 March 2016

Government Hits Panic Button

The government has, predictably, panicked over the possibility of the lights going out in the next couple of winters.  The story is evidently a bit recondite for many - indeed, at the time of writing only the Daily Mail (sic) has picked it up amongst the learned ranks of the MSM - but DECC is rushing through a "Consultation on further reforms to the Capacity Market".  The rather technical details don't need to concern us here but, take it from me, that's the Big Red Panic Button alright. 

Early comments are that Drax will be a big beneficiary, and indeed their share price has ticked up more than 5% this morning.  An early return for their scaremongering blackmailing lobbying.

Like we've always said, chances of the lights going out are slim because - when the lights go out, the government goes out.   Mark you, the way the EU thing is rumbling at the moment, they may be going out anyway ...

ND

PS:  oh and, well done, the Daily Mail! 

UPDATE:  so - is this the pro-CCGT measure I predicted here in JanuaryCould be.  A bit too soon to say definitively, some detailed analysis required. 

5 comments:

dearieme said...

The Daily Mail is a better approximation to a newspaper than the Guardian.

andrew said...


Dearieme, how wrong you are:

In the Guardian's words and thoughts and own understanding of truth on their terms, the Guardian itself is a secure safe space where there is only one newspaper called the Guardian and there is only one phrase in that newspaper and that is "the Guardina"
All else is Crimethink - now termed MailRead according to the latest style guide.



Demetrius said...

For those who check out the web sites Energy Matters and Our Finite World and related ones this is not a surprise, more a confirmation of what has already been known for a little while now. Between our ignorant lazy politicians and their liking for lobby money and the main media for whom this has been too hard for their interns to grasp the realities and the the risks have not been understood or even considered. Now where are the candles left over from the 70's?

Electro-Kevin said...

I reckon the Mail will (reluctantly of course) turn out in favour of the IN campaign at the last knockings.

They have previous for bottling it.

The lights were never going to go out but our manufacturing will.

Ironically the lights going out would be the best political wake up our people could ever have. And they're not going to get it.

estwdjhn said...

This appears to be madness beyond madness.

What is it with this government and energy policy.

They make CCGT uneconomical to build by covering the place in windmills.
Then they appear to be planning on doubling to cost of providing peak capacity to ensure people build CCGT plant to use once in a blue moon rather than dirt cheap diesel generators (while they are dirty and inefficient, as something only actually run up for an hour or so on a couple of Tuesdays in February, it hardly matters).

It's difficult to find a decision they've made where they've not chosen the wrong option...