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UTILITY WEEK | 22ND - 28TH APRIL 2016 | 31 Community Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen. bennett@fav-house.com; Assistant editor (insights): Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: jane.gray@ fav-house.com; Associate insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@ fav-house.com; Deputy news editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080; e: lois.vallely@fav-house.com; Networks correspondent: Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083, e: lucinda.dann@fav-house.com; Reporters: Saffron Johnson, t: 01342 332050, e: saffron.johnson@fav-house.com and Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tom.grimwood@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Richard Powell, t: 01342 332062, e: richard.powell@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, t: 01342 332077, e: sarah.wood@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amanda.barnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332507, e: peter.bissell@fav-house.com. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Published by: Faversham House Ltd, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 1UZ 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2015 Membership subscriptions: UK £637 per year. Overseas £749 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332507 The codswallop is out there The truth is out there. That clarion call made famous by The X-Files leapt to mind this week with the Daily Express exclusively revealing that unnamed "scientists" had dis- covered an anomalous number of black holes in a particular area of far-flung space – 64 to be precise – and that these black holes are not only point- ing in the same direction, but they are all spinning in sync, spewing radio waves out of their cores. The paper quoted "experts" claiming that there was a 0.1 per cent chance of this occur- ring naturally, and that there- fore there is only one rational explanation: aliens! Yup. Maybe a super- advanced civilisation is respon- sible for creating, aligning and manipulating the black holes, either to create a huge "We are here" sign or to harvest the radio waves as a form of energy. That's certainly one way to impress the neighbours: synchronised black holes. It's beyond the capabilities of current human technology of course – it's questionable whether we can even build financially viable nuclear power stations – but Discon- nector is slightly worried that it might give the likes of Richard Branson and Elon Musk big ideas. "Manned space flight? Forget it. The real kudos is in trying to create black holes!" That's a statement Dis- connector hopes never gets uttered. Dark days for Venezuela While in a galaxy far, far away some aliens may (or may not) be harnessing the power of black holes, back here on planet Earth the government of impoverished Venezuela is preparing to move the clocks forward by half an hour to try to save energy. The hope is that by prolong- ing the amount of daylight in the evening by 30 minutes the country will use less electricity on lights and air conditioning – and it really needs the initiative to work, because the energy crisis in the country is becom- ing critical. For years, the capital, Cara- cas, has been hit by periodic blackouts because under the previous president, Hugo Chavez, there was little or no investment in much-needed new generation. Many rural areas live in almost perpetual darkness. To make matters worse – much, much worse – the coun- try has been hit by a prolonged drought. A hydroelectric plant at the Guri Dam produces two- thirds of the country's power, and water levels are near the plant's minimum operating level. President Nicolas Maduro has put all government employees on a four-day week for two months in an effort to conserve power and has asked the women of Venezuela not to use their hair dryers "except for special occasions". As if the denizens of that country didn't already have it tough, Caracas also has the dubious honour of being the murder capital of the world, and really not a place you want to be in aer dark. It kinda gives you a sense of perspective, doesn't it? What metre for a meter? While in Caracas they're try- ing to dodge blackouts and gunmen, here in Blighty we're getting moist-eyed about the demise of the humble mechani- cal gas meter, apparently. The Poet Laureate of the UK, Glasgow-born Carol Ann Duffy, has announced that her next project is to write an ode to traditional meters, which face extinction with the smart meter rollout. She thinks we'll miss the "whirring". Hmm. Disconnector thinks she may be trying a bit too hard to reach out to the common man, but then she does have form in this area. In 2010, she wrote Achilles (for David Beck- ham) about the Achilles tendon injury that le the England footballer out of the World Cup. The meter poem will hit the streets in the next few months, so you'll be able to judge for yourself. Disconnector Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband RIP David MacKay, former DECC Chief Scientific Adviser. He was passionate, original, brave. A truly good man. Deep condolences to his family. Mark Johnston @mark_johnston 3000 job losses in new #EDF plan to pay for #Hinkley. Hands-up all those who think French union's will roll-over for that! Stephen Gifford @SGiffordUK Adonis argues that London's two mayors have already delivered effective and successful London infrastructure commission #ukrn2016 CCWater @WaterWatchdog Reducing the temp setting on your washing machine from 40 to 30 degrees will cut the amount of energy you use by 40% #Mondaymoneysaver Ted Cruz @tedcruz Dems kill jobs, ignore facts. CO2 is what every human breathes out; every plant, in turn, consumes CO2. #ScienceFacts Sean Robinson @SeanRobinsonUU Across #northwest 2.9 million stone of fat poured into sewers the weight of 243,000 UK adults remember #3PPromise Natalie Bennett @natalieben "The fact we are pursuing #Hinkley nuclear power is a sign we have a failed mediaeval democracy" - @MollyMEP #Greenmeetsgrune Bernie Sanders @SenSanders We can create millions of jobs and fight climate change by transforming our energy system away from oil, coal and gas to renewable energy. Sierra Club @sierraclub So long #coal! The world's largest wealth fund bans 52 coal-linked firms Good Energy @GoodEnergy Solar sets new British record by providing more power than coal for 24 hours last weekend! Top Tweets