David Mark

# What will happen without electricity? Well if the history of humanity itself is anything to go by, ever since the discovery of fire, we have been relying on energy production for our survival. While the source and mode of harnessing energy have changed, one thing remains indisputable, our ability to draw electricity from power grids is the reason why our industries are experiencing a period of unforeseen business prosperity. But when it comes to the importance of electricity, many individuals especially the ones who get to enjoy close to uninterrupted power tend to take it for granted. “How Vulnerable Are We Without Electricity” is a genuine question that warrants far more serious consideration, but isn’t which is surprising that our electric grids are constantly facing more and more failures. As for the answer to that query, it’s simple. Can we light a fire without a fuel source? Or can we go fishing in a dried-up lake? Well, the answer is a resounding “Hell No”. which just proves that what we shall do without electricity is NOTHING. Let’s think of how our lives are shaping up, both in a professional and personal sense. The use of electronic appliances in our lives isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, whilst the demand for better services has forced the hands of many industries to incorporate better high-tech equipment into their inventory. As a result, our primary causes of a blackout. The causes of blackouts are natural as well as caused by human beings. Natural phenomena such as wildlife interacting with the infrastructure laid out to supply electrical power or a storm, an earthquake the indigenous flora are some examples. Faults at power supply stations, damaged power lines are some reasons that are unpredictable and are more than one might imagine. The one most common reason for a blackout is the increasing demand that the public utility companies find it challenging to put up with. The system has been designed to operate for a limited supply. When the demand for power increases and is more than the service provider can provide this results in overloading the system resulting in a brownout or a blackout. # What Powers Are At Play? 1. Tussle Between Technology & Nature: With the increasing technology, the infrastructure that has been laid down is finding it difficult to cope up with the demand of consumers. It is one of the primary reasons why a blackout is more likely to occur now than ever before. With the growing population, the interaction between human beings and wildlife is on the rise, as we acquire more and more land, we leave less for wild animals. Frequent encounters with wild animals and even the fact that many large wild animals interact with the infrastructure for power supply means that the chances of damaging the transmission lines increases. It is another significant reason why we have more power outages than ever before. 2. Ever-Rising Demand: In the last few decades, we have increased the systematic strain on the infrastructure by depending on technology too much. Take, for example just a couple of decades back air conditioning, vacuum cleaning, electric cars, computers, machinery run by electric power were fewer than they are today. The infrastructural development across nations has not increased at equal pace; hence the demand and supply are not on the same level. More blackouts occur during summer months than winters because we use up a lot (close to the electrical requirements of an entire nation a couple of decades ago) of electricity to power the air conditioning at our homes and offices. It is just one example of the increasing demand for electricity. As mentioned earlier, electric vehicles will be more common than ever, to reduce emissions and depend on non-renewable resources, the market is ever increasing. As the population increases and the incorporation of technology in our lives surges, power supply services need to produce more and more electricity to meet our demands. The prevalence of electrical appliances in our lives is increasing at an alarming rate giving rise to the demand for electrical power. # What Price We Have To Pay? A small, temporary blackout can affect as many as seven hundred people at once. That is the actual number of people who were affected by a blackout in India alone in the year 2012. A blackout not only affects households and offices the impact of a blackout on the economy is much more than what is it for individuals. When a grid collapses all the end-users are affected by power loss, homes, offices, hospitals, trains, traffic are just some examples. Industries come to a standstill if they do not have a remote back-up supply or operations like mining that runs heavy equipment have to stop and wait for power supply if they do not have an on-site continuous power supply. The cost of all the halted operations can pile up over the course of a year and cost hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money on… essentially NOTHING! # Where Is The Solution? The solution is simple, really, and involves a piece of technology that has been around since the industrial revolution itself. We are of course referring to the use of backup power generators, particularly diesel gensets in safeguarding your homes and offices from the constant threat of power loss. If you wish to