Piriyasha, Birmingham Central Socialist Party
The National Grid, the UKs largest utility corporation, has indicated that homes in the UK can expect scheduled three hours power cuts to save energy for heating, during peak usage time of the day this winter.
A reduction in supply of gas from Russia to Europe could mean gas shortages and power cuts, while energy companies’ profits soar. Working-class households will feel the brunt, already hit hard by price rises.
Many are having to make a choice as to whether to turn on the heating or feed children; now there’s the additional burden of stress from the risk of power cuts.
The Tories have announced their intention to reopen the ‘Rough’ gas offshore storage facility. The facility allows for the storage of gas for up to ten days in case of emergencies. It had been made redundant in 2017. After privatisation, profiteering bosses had refused to invest to keep it running, not seeing sufficient profit.
In 2010, a report from the energy and climate change select committee recommended that the government should double its gas storage capacity, but it was simply ignored. Capitalism is an inefficient economic system that prioritises the profits that can be made now, with no thought for the future.
Since Thatcher’s privatisation of energy companies in the 1980s, the top energy companies have made over $2 trillion in profits. The industry has been stripped to extract maximum profit.
As winter nears, industry bodies are encouraging consumers to sign up to energy-saving schemes, to prevent a surge in demand. I wonder if the huge electric billboards, or commercial businesses that leave their lights on all night as advertising, will be asked to turn off?
In an economic system, capitalism, which prioritises profits over the climate and people, the elite will only invest their huge wealth if they can find a profit. The plans to resume fracking and extract more gas from the North Sea will not solve gas shortages this winter – the consequence will be more environmental destruction.
We need investment in renewable energy, like wind and solar. But to achieve that on the scale needed, and for it to be democratically planned in our interests, the huge resources of the energy companies need to be in the hands of the working class. Therefore the energy companies need to be nationalised, with compensation only on the basis of proven need.
These are the steps needed to ensure sustainable, affordable, and sufficient energy for the future.
