Wednesday 28 May 2008

Power Cuts

I am convinced that EDF is run by someone who hates me.
I know its my fault I live in a village, but why do my powercuts go on for hours?

2am the lights went out, and as I write they are still out.

At 7am they had not yet dispatched an engineer/eers to deal with the problem. 11 am some folk were re connected, but not the few who live in the houses around Village HQ.

I feel sorry for the call centre staff, but dispair at the unplumbed depths of the incompetance of the company.

2 comments:

Nemesis said...

Ken

I feel sure that I would have referred you to an Institute of Electrical Engineers report of 1984 which found that 93% of managers in the industry are unqualified either by education or experience.

As you know I have reported (to Tony Blair amongst others) re Petbow at that time and I mentioned that Petbow appeared to buck the trend by having 100% unqualified management.

When backup generators failed at Dounreay what did we find ? Has the country the expertrise to clean up after a cock up in a facility over resourced with managers and under resourced with expertise ?

Apparently not bring in the French to do the four billion nuclear clean up. (which will run to ten billion plus ...)

In 84 the IEE warned that we train about one tenth of the engineers needed.

I think the national power grid is now running at its lowest spare capacity ever (just 11%).

In a power cut backup generators on key and vital points are only expected to achieve a reliability of 589 successful starts out of 600 maintenance and real incidents over 30 years.

And as my Army parachute course instructor said to me (hope he did not mean it)

"You set such low standards for yourself and succeeed in failing to achieve them"

Just imagine 11 crashes out of Manston for every 600 take offs.

We need engineers in senior management of the power industries.

I imagine the Irish power projects company headed by the OIRA's Sean Garland might agree ??? (tee hee)

Nemesis said...

Ken

There is a copy of the report I wrote for Home Secretary last year with Mr GILMARTIN (I think is the name) Clerk to Kent Police Authority.

I think you are an ex fire officer (correct me if you are wrong)

The recommendations I make (which are on the record with Home Office anyway) are pretty much procedural and contractual. Amendment to HSAW Act etc. Expanding role of HSE with redesignation of failure incidents as reportable. Changes of test and quality control and maintenance and technical authorship approach.

Those New York fire opfficers on 911. What outstanding officers. Advancing into a building (Tower Seven) whose backup generatrors system was rogue pumping 12000 gallons of diesel into the fires ensuing from the aircraft impacts.

What valour and dedication to duty.

Possibly the tragic losses of firefighters preventable if people in authority in this country had properly submitted reports to MI5 for onward notice to FBI (I mean Kent Police)

I can send a copy of the summary and recs at TDC.