Energy crisis

Oh my! I think I was about to slack off on writing in the blog again. I fell asleep on the sofa a while ago and was about to drag myself to bed but needed to turn off the computer first. You see, we are in a major energy crisis here in Western Australia. Sometimes while listening to the news, you hear a big story but it doesn’t quite hit home because it happened somewhere else.  A couple weeks ago, there was an explosion at a gas and oil processing plant on Varanus Island off the coast of our state. I don’t think I even knew the place existed before the explosion. Anyway, the gas supply of Western Australia has been effectively slashed by a third, which affects not only our gas use but our electricity use as well. Householders and businesses alike have been called upon to greatly reduce our power usage. It’s a good thing we don’t have bitterly cold winters. In fact, I suppose it’s a good thing this has occurred now because we can live without heating most winter days and nights. It’s a lot more difficult in the heat of the summer.

This reminds me of the short-term crisis of two or three summers ago where the government threatened rolling blackouts when it was unable to provide for the needs of the state’s consumers. It was probably the hottest day of that summer and we were told to turn off air conditioners and extra lights. That threat was relatively short-lived but this crisis will likely be affecting us directly for months and indirectly for who knows how long. It’s a shame that more alternate sources of energy are not widely available here to back up the available supply. Prices are going to go up on everything yet again. The reality is starting to hit home.