Living in a state of constant alert
We got through it one more time. The heat wave is finally over and – apart from a few isolated problems with electricity supply – there have been no reports of any blackouts. For this we should thank the thousands of employees at the Public Power Corporation (PPC). Meanwhile, the new record high in energy consumption should worry us. How much longer do we have to live with the fear of a general disruption of our national energy supply? Do we have to remain in a constant state of alert? In past years, newspaper headlines warned of a drought every summer. Then it rained, our water reservoirs filled up and we forgot about the problem. But now we face the risk of blackouts. Who knows what other problems we will face in the future due to our recklessness. It seems that some crucial cog in the state system will always be dysfunctional. And so, although fears were assuaged once again this year, the root of the problem was not addressed. The fact that we consumed more than 10,000 megawatts of electricity without provoking a blackout should not reassure us. On the contrary, now is the time for a sober discussion about the problem (which hardly ever happens in the wake of any crisis). We may have successfully organized an Olympiad but we appear to be permanently plagued by some problem or other – whether it be large (such as fiscal issues) or small (such as an inadequate electricity grid). And in every case, we either seek to attribute blame or implement some half-baked solution that only makes things worse in the long term.
