95/05497 Crisis management in the power industry: An inside story

Abstract

This book is a study of crisis management in the electricity supply industry over the last 70 years. The full implications of the vulnerability of the electricity supply are examined, with special reference to past industrial action. Few people know how close we have come on more than one occasion to disaster. At the time of the 1984 miner's strike, and for some years afterwards, there were strong tactical reasons for keeping quiet about the dangers to electricity supply and the strategies for overcoming them. Since the electricity supply industry has changed its structure through privatization in ways which would make any future crisis significantly different, there is no reason to hold back a story of such great public interest and importance. The industry's responses demonstrate crisis management at its most demanding. In the wake of privatization, challenging and controversial questions are asked, which are of fundamental importance to the economy, quality of life and political stability of the country. In addition, a full account of the changes in structure, technology and industrial relations in the electricity supply industry is given in Appendix 1.