Blackout in Austria – Reliable emergency power supply is a MUST
Our colleague Stefanie Frühwirth asked the nationally known “blackout” expert Herbert Saurugg, MSC, for an interview. The topic is the current crisis triggered by Covid-19. But a possible “blackout”, i.e. a sudden, supra-regional, i.e. large parts of Europe, prolonged power, infrastructure and supply failure, cannot be ruled out, according to the blackout expert. He explains what this means for companies and data centers in the following interview.
Which crisis scenario is more threatening for us? What are the differences or What do these two crises have in common?
The COVID-19 pandemic is a creeping crisis. Everything is still working and yet many things are at a standstill. The so-called “new” normal is very deceptive. I’m afraid we’ve only experienced one seaquake. The real shockwaves and destruction are yet to come. I don’t want to create fear with this, but we shouldn’t let ourselves be caught off guard again. We are currently concentrating too much on the disease and hardly on the time-delayed side effects in many other areas. The important thing is mental preparation and the acceptance that it is not over yet. Let’s use the time now to keep ourselves physically and mentally fit. Let’s look at ourselves and our own family. This includes, for example, playing through possible developments in your head with possible solutions. What if? We ourselves help decide the course of the crisis with our dealings.
A blackout, i.e. a Europe-wide power and infrastructure failure, on the other hand, immediately becomes tangibly threatening. Nothing is broken at first, but nothing works anymore. Neither a light nor a mobile phone, no cooking, no heating, no cash registers. This condition remains largely unchanged, at least for several days. Namely, until not only does the electricity flow again, but also the telecommunications supply is largely functional again. In any case, a blackout is more threatening in the short term. Both scenarios will change our lives permanently.
What is meant by a “blackout”? And what is the difference to a “power outage”?
Almost all of us have experienced a power outage at some point. Most of the time, this is resolved after a few minutes or sometimes a few hours. The main causes of such interruptions are excavation work or technical defects. Longer outages are the exception and usually affect severe weather regions in rural areas. Life continues to function with few restrictions. In the event of a blackout, on the other hand, there is a sudden, supra-regional, i.e . long-lasting power, infrastructure and supply failure, i.e. affecting large parts of Europe. Outside help is not possible. There has never been anything like it before and that’s why we have such a hard time making the assessment. There are always blackouts on other continents. Also in the USA. But there you can deal with such disruptions. This is also the greatest danger for Central Europe. Because we have such good and excellent care in all areas of life, we hardly have any corresponding fallback levels and preparations. And that could end catastrophically, as we have already seen in part with the COVID crisis.
In what period do you think we should expect a “blackout”? How secure is the electricity supply in Austria?
The network operators are doing an excellent job so that we can enjoy such a high level of security of supply at all. But it is becoming more and more difficult. We do not have a national electricity supply system, but we are part of a European interconnected system, the largest in the world. And this only works as a whole. This means that even if we do all our homework in Austria, we depend on 42 other subsystems. If something goes badly wrong somewhere, it would probably paralyze large parts of Europe. I firmly assume that we will experience a blackout event in the next five years. Now there is also the Corona crisis. A possible staff shortage is an issue. The grid operators have already taken precautions. Much more serious is the decline in electricity demand due to the lockdown. This means that at certain times we have too much electricity from wind and PV systems in the grid and too few safety reserves. On the first weekend in April, reserves were exhausted by up to 100 percent in Germany. This will come to a head in the coming weeks. This means that we currently have an increasing risk of blackouts. I hope I misjudge this and it’s not as bad as it seems. Hope alone is not enough.
What measures do companies, organisations and municipalities need to take now? Can you give 5 tips? How can we become more independent?
- Create decentralised functional units, i.e. so-called energy cells. With millions of renewable energy plants, this will not work in this form in the foreseeable future. Above all, the buffers and storage are missing.
- Keeping the balance between generation and consumption in harmony. At the European level, however, efforts are towards even more centralisation and market. That won’t go well.
- Prepare and prepare for this disaster at short notice. And this is where each and every one of us is called upon: To prepare ourselves in such a way that we ourselves and our own family can survive two weeks without having to go shopping: a few days of water (2 liters per person per day), food, important medication or special needs (small children, pets).
- At the municipal level , ensure that the most important supply services (water, sewage, information, health) can be maintained , at least provisionally. To this end, decentralised contact points, so-called self-help bases, must also be prepared, where people can make emergency calls and organise themselves in the neighbourhood.
- Companies need to know how to shut down their systems completely or into safe emergency operation when nothing else works. This must be prepared, also present in the minds of the employees, so that they can act quickly if the worst comes to the worst. If an emergency operation has to be maintained, then the most important resource is the employees. Therefore, this is also a very central point in preventive care: To encourage one’s own employees to take precautions!
What are the advantages of using emergency power generators?
If you have a professional emergency power supply and also maintain it continuously, then you have an emergency power supply for such an interruption. I would like to emphasise maintenance and fuel availability and quality. Otherwise, you can experience a nasty surprise in the crisis. Often an emergency power generator was purchased a long time ago, but the organization now has a much higher consumption. That’s why you have to see if everything still fits together. Or how much fuel is in the tank at a minimum. There, too, you often experience your surprises. The difference between the possible tank capacity and reality is up to 100 percent. But if you take that into account, you at least have this important fallback level.
Many people rely on PV systems. How independent am I really?
Most PV systems are grid-driven. This means that they do not supply electricity in the event of a grid failure. This would require an off-grid PV system with storage, but this has so far been the exception. My approach is to push such systems, because then you also have added value in everyday life. In critical areas, it is better to use an emergency power generator . The best solution is a combination of both areas. This allows me to use the advantages of both worlds. This is more complex and expensive, but also more robust.
How long do you think the coronavirus will continue to accompany us in everyday life? And what will change after this crisis? Who will be the winners and losers?
As long as there is no vaccine, we will not get out of crisis mode. If the infections then skyrocket again, it will probably have to be rowed back again. Therefore, we should expect wave curves. According to current estimates, there will not be a vaccine until 2021 at the earliest. We will all be losers, at least if we take our previous prosperity as a yardstick. The winners will be those who can adapt most quickly to the new situation and the new framework conditions. These will probably continue to change at a high pace. Unfortunately, I cannot give a more positive outlook. Many things are out of our hands. But we can build up self-provision, mental and physical strength.
Thank you very much for the interview – stay healthy.
