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utILItY WEEK | 5th - 11th August 2016 | 31 Community Beware the ants of doom! As Donald Trump bullies his way to the US presidency, armed only with an outsized ego and billions of dollars, to many bemused Brits still shell- shocked at the result of the Brexit referendum it's begin- ning to feel a bit, er, doom- laden. To them, at least, it should come as no surprise that a freakish strain of Asian super- ant is heading for the UK that has a bizarre attraction to elec- tricity and has been blamed for starting fires in people's homes. Though smaller than common or garden British ants, they gather in their thousands around electricity sockets and cables, burrowing into the cir- cuitry and causing mayhem. With three reported infesta- tions already this year, the fire-starting ants are becoming increasingly common through- out the UK, according to Phillip Buckham-Bonnett, who is researching the invasive insects as part of a project at the Uni- versity of York. Oh, and as they also have jaws powerful enough to bite through electricity cables, it means they pack a hell of a bite into the bargain, should you be foolish enough to try and stop them. Oh, and they are almost indistinguishable from ordinary British ants, so the first you're going to know about them is when they take a chunk out of your finger or burn your house down. These are dark days, thinks Disconnector. The end is nigh. And getting nigher. Wheels in motion As it happens, animals are quite oen responsible for blackouts, usually the result of birds or other animals frying themselves on electricity cables or substations. However, the bar was set to a new level last week when a sloth in Peru shut down a gas pipeline by the simple expedient of turning the valve. In a video uploaded to You- Tube, the sloth can be seen hanging from the wheel, apparently try- ing to get a surer purchase but inadvertently turning the wheel each time it tried. The company's policy is not to disturb the local wildlife, so instead of chasing the animal off, workers waited until the animal got bored and ambled off. Pokemon No Go The smartphone is almost as ubiquitous as human stupid- ity, which makes the sudden arrival of Pokemon Go poten- tially life-threatening. Kids (and adults) have already been warned to pay attention to where they're walking as people staring intently at their phones wander into lampposts – or traffic. Now Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) has found it necessary to ask developers to classify the area around the Fukishima nuclear meltdown as off-limits so that Pokemon won't appear in it. Tepco didn't say whether anyone has yet been found looking for Pokemon in the area, but it did test the zone around the Fukushima plant and other nuclear power plants and found creatures there, it said. There are also fears that employees may play the game, and they have now been banned from doing so while on site. Disconnector can't help but wonder what Darwin would have made of the Pokemon Go phenomenon. Maybe it would have caused him to revise his theory. Disconnector Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Acting editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: janegray@ fav-house.com; Insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathewbeech@fav-house. com; News editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080, e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; Networks correspondent: Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083, e: lucindadann@fav-house.com; Reporters: Saffron Johnson, t: 01342 332050, e: saffronjohnson@fav-house.com and Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Richard Powell, t: 01342 332062, e: richardpowell@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, t: 01342 332077, e: sarahwood@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@ fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332507, e: peterbissell@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 OVO Energy @OVOEnergy You don't have to be skilled at space hopping to work at OVO...but it helps Water UK @WaterUK A running tap wastes over 6 litres of water a minute – 3 times an adult's recommended daily intake! Turn it off when not in use. #WaterTips Ann Robinson @AnnRobinson8 Good feeling about summer holidays. I don't think it will stop Ofgem getting on with the reforms coming out of the CMA energy investigation. Si @DarkKnight1882 Hinkley nuclear plant will be most expensive object on earth. Tell the government we want renewable energy instead Northumbrian Water @NorthumbrianH2O Did you know? We were a founding member of @WaterAidUK and are proud to still sup- port its work 35 years on #35at35 Zac Goldsmith @ZacGoldsmith Absolutely delighted to hear @nickhurdmp has been made Minister for Climate Change and Industry. Best possible choice. David Schneider @davidschneider EDF give #HinkleyPoint the green light, which is also something you may see around anyone who lives within 25 miles of it once it's built. Climate Reality @ClimateReality It's the best of times for clean energy. It's the worst of times for Big Polluters! UberFacts @UberFacts Dutch designer Nathalie Teugels has invented a chair that converts the energy generated by your fidgeting into power. Top Tweets utility Week is a member of the Independent Press standards Organisation (which regulates the uK's magazine and newspaper industry). 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