Article 41WM6 Belgium faces winter blackouts amid nuclear reactor shutdowns

Belgium faces winter blackouts amid nuclear reactor shutdowns

by
Daniel Boffey in Brussels
from on (#41WM6)

Emergency plans for homes, roads and industry as country loses 40% of power supply

A forced shutdown of one nuclear reactor in the lead up to winter may be regarded as unfortunate. But the closure of six of the seven reactors responsible for supplying 40% of Belgium's electricity is raising eyebrows, even in a country so prone to chaotic administration.

An emergency "load shedding" plan has been updated, under which motorway lights will be switched off, industrial production suspended and rolling three-hour blackouts launched in homes nationwide should temperatures drop in the coming months and demand outstrip the now limited electricity supply.

Continue reading...
External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://feeds.theguardian.com/theguardian/environment/rss
Feed Title
Feed Link http://feeds.theguardian.com/
Reply 0 comments