Power Cuts In London

Huge power cuts yesterday knocked out the Tube and trains across London and the South East. Thankfully I was on one of the last services to get out of the capital before the network was shut down, so got home safely, unlike thousands.

The National Grid is starting to appear more and more flakey. We had power cuts in the office a few weeks ago, and don't forget the same company also owns the grid system that knocked out New York and the surrounding areas a few weeks ago. Are we going to see a Railtrack situation where the owner of an essential infrastructure has to be effectively nationalised to keep the system running? Water companies need more money to maintain their grid system, and are threatening higher bills to pay for it, if the regulator lets them. Are we seeing the downside of privatisation now? After years of minimum investment and maximum return for shareholders, essential national systems are starting to crumble.

Time to buy shares in maintenance companies!