DARK AGES 2017; Warning that power cuts may hit 16 million homes.Byline: JASON Jason, in Greek mythology Jason, in Greek mythology, son of Aeson. When Pelias usurped the throne of Iolcus and killed (or imprisoned) Aeson and most of his descendants, Jason was smuggled off to the centaur Chiron, who reared him secretly on Mt. Pelion. BEATTIE BRITAIN faces widespread power cuts for the first time since the 1970s, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Government's own predictions. Up to 16 million homes could be hit by black-outs unless there is a marked increase in energy supplies, a report by the Department of Energy and Climate Change has warned. By 2017 the supply shortage is predicted to reach 3,000 megawatt hours per year - equivalent to the whole of Nottingham being without electricity for a day. And by 2025 the shortfall could hit 7,000 megawatt hours per year. Power rationing has not taken place in Britain since the 1970s, when a three-day week was brought in to preserve coal during a miners' strike. The Conservatives said ministers had their "heads in the sand" about the need to boost energy supplies. But the Government insisted that Britain would be able to rely on a mixture of nuclear, renewable and clean-coal energy. A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said last night: "It is alarmist a·larm·ist n. A person who needlessly alarms or attempts to alarm others, as by inventing or spreading false or exaggerated rumors of impending danger or catastrophe. to talk of 70s-style three-day weeks. No one's head is in the sand. The public should be reassured that the UK energy system is one of the most resilient and responsive in the world." Global Warming: Page 23 CAPTION(S): BLEAK Power cut in 1973 |
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