@emilygodsen

Reminds me of this photograph I kept on my power station office wall for 30 years:

'Weakened by war and with coal in short supply, the power system was ill-prepared for the big freeze of 1946/1947. 1/n

Temperatures were below zero for long periods and even in central London they fell to as low as minus 15 degrees Centigrade. There were power cuts across the country. 2/n

In February, with snow deep on the ground, members of the Central Electricity Board wearing overcoats and mufflers were photographed meeting by candlelight at the Board's London headquarters.'

As a result of this winter, the government realised 'something had to be done'.

It paved the way for the creation of the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1958 to rebuild and modernise the UK electricity system and make it resilient to events.

The last of the 1960s 2000MW coal-fired stations built by the CEGB are scheduled to be shut down by 2025. 4/n

The final set of CEGB nuclear units are still running [just] and Hinkley Point 'C' is under construction.

Notwithstanding the emissions imperative, we need the new nuclear stations to be built to secure the electricity system from these cold windless days. 5/n

Whenever anyone used to try and persuade me to make unwise choices at work, I used to point out that photo & say:

'Do you really want to be in these men's shoes?'

It should be a permanent feature in the office of the Secretary of State responsible for electricity supply. 6/6

The photo was published with the quoted text in 'The CEGB Story' which was published by National Power plc, as the privatised successor company, in 1990 to celebrated the successes of the 32 years of the CEGB.