Displaying items by tag: electricity

Ofgem has said that the UK is facing ‘a significant risk’ of gas shortages this winter due to Russia's war with Ukraine. It could possibly enter a ‘gas supply emergency’, leading to supplies being cut to the power stations using gas to generate electricity. This would place firms at risk of running out of money because of huge charges they must pay if they cannot deliver electricity. SSE,which operates four gas-fired power stations in the UK, is concerned that gas-fired power stations face millions of pounds worth of penalties ‘caused by events outside their control’.

Abdo Saade is one of the most powerful men in Lebanon. He owns 4,000 electricity generators across Lebanon, which keep the lights on in the absence of a reliable power supply. He turned Lebanon's tattered electricity grid and inept state utility into a lucrative business, nicknamed 'Generator Mafia'. Millions of Lebanese pay enormous sums from their meagre salaries each month on two separate bills: one to the state electricity company, the other to their local 'generator man'. Without Mr Saade’s syndicate the country's economy would grind to a halt. A fuel shortage has further disrupted daily life, and two main power plants closed for 24 hours on 9 October. This week businesses have shut, hospitals anticipate mass deaths from power cuts to ventilators, water supplies to four million are threatened, and there have been fistfights and shootings at petrol stations.