Utility Week

Community energy companies BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total. And these companies are not just big in a UK context but globally, which prompts the question, if it's such a confusing phrase to use, why use it all? Or perhaps it is Disconnec- tor who is getting confused, because clarity is the last thing on the writer's mind. For much of the media, it is assumed that energy…is a bad business full stop, and any nuance simply weakens the story. Better safe than sorry As this column is wont to point out, life is complicated. Disconnector was struck by this again upon reading a discussion paper by Matthew Neidell, Shinsuke Uchida and Marcella Veronesi warning about the use of the "precautionary principle" in regulation. The precautionary principle is generally understood to mean that a course of action should not be proceeded with if the threats of damage are not fully understood. The error with this,…the authors say, is that it does not take into account the fact that inaction may also have a cost. So, for instance, a‹ er a freak tsunami devastated the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan in 2011, it reinvigorated the anti-nuclear campaign Disconnector Publishing director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Content director: Jane Gray, janegray@fav-house.com, t: 01342 333004; Editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com Digital editor: James Wallin, 01342 332015, jameswallin@fav-house.com; Intelligence editor: Denise Chevin, 01342 332087, denisechevin@fav-house.com Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@ fav-house.com; Reporter: Adam John, t: 01342 332069, e: adamjohn@fav-house.com; Water correspondent: Ruth Williams, e: ruthwilliams@fav-house.com, t: 01342 332069 Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332116; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, e: sarahwood@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332117 Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e: sophieabbott@fav-house.com; General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2018 Membership subscriptions: UK £950+VAT per year. Contact Jo Nikiforov on: 01342 332077 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the regulator of the UK's magazine and newspaper industry. We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact the Editor. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you want more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk. but not a square box on a wheels carrying out science experiments. Moony McMoon- face might at least have shown that…the bo" ns had a bit of a sense of humour about their endeavours. Then again, NASA may have had one eye on the sensibili- ties of US prez Donald Trump, who dreams of creating a "space force". He'd probably be prepared to put taxpayer bucks behind any project as long as it sounded like a villain in a super- hero movie. Think big Disconnector's eye was caught by a headline in The Guardian this week that screamed: "Fossil fuel big — ve 'spent €251m lobby- ing EU' since 2010". The great man cannot speak for the verac- ity or otherwise of the story, but what stood out was the phrase "big — ve". The casual reader might easily have assumed the story included some of the com- panies more commonly referred to as the "big six" – which is to say the big energy suppliers in the…UK. But no. The big — ve in this instance were the — ve upstream United we stand! While we wait impatiently for the chance to frolic on Boris Johnson's sunny uplands, we can be grateful for the distrac- tion ož ered by the England rugby team making it through to the — nal of the world cup. At least that's one deadline we can be certain of. Either England or South Africa will walk away as champions, no ifs, no buts, and it's something that Leavers and Remainers can unite over. It's unfortunate that Wales couldn't be there too, having been pipped at the post. But looking on the bright side, now they're out of the competition, they can lend their support to England and show these European Johnnies what being British is all about! Right…lads? Lads? Are you there, lads? What's in a name? The person at NASA who came up with the moniker for its latest probe must surely have been a man, because no self- respecting female would have come up with the name Viper. Especially if it was for a lunar probe whose primary purpose is to measure how much water there is on the moon. Viper is a name you might give to an attack helicopter, UTILITY WEEK | 1ST - 7TH NOVEMBER 2019 | 31 in the country and within a short while all nuclear plants in Japan were shut. The unintended consequence was that the lost capacity had to be replaced by much more expensive fossil fuels, which resulted in electricity prices going up by as much as 40 per cent in some regions. This in turn led to a fall in the demand for electric- ity, which, in the cold harsh winters of Japan, resulted in fatalities, particularly among the elderly. The authors conclude, therefore, that more loss of life resulted from the closure of the country's nuclear power plants than from radiation following the meltdown. Photo realism Talking of death, it must surely be a sign of our times that a recent study found that more people now die taking sel— es than in shark attacks. According to India's Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, between October 2011 and November 2017, at least 259 people died taking sel— es around the globe, compared with 50 people who died in shark attacks. We are literally killing ourselves with our own self- regard.

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