TV viewers were left watching blank screens yesterday as another London mains failure forced GMTV to delay their live broadcast. Crew and presenters were unable to prepare for the show after a burst water main cut power to the South Bank, affecting the London Television Centre Studies and transmitters where shows such as GMTV and This Morning are filmed. The show could eventually be seen by analogue viewers nearly twenty minutes later – with presenters hastily made-up and some with wet hair. Digital viewers had a longer wait as the signal operates on a separate supply that was not restored until almost 8 am.

Despite the apologies of the presenters and producers, Industry sources are claiming that the incident (which would have surely lost significant advertising revenue) could have been easily avoided. These sources claim that following budget cuts, ITV has refused to repair or replace a faulty emergency power system that should have kept the power on. An ITV spokesperson claimed they were ‘currently putting in place new back-up procedures to address any future issues of this nature’.

A note to the producers – Riello UPS have been addressing the issues of maximising protection while minimising cost of ownership for some time. As a result, a range of our UPS and power protection systems are keeping the cameras rolling in a number of studios across Britain….

During such sensitive times as the 2012 Olympics there will be no second chances for business continuity planners who will have to design systems that can cope with a range of scenarios, not least of which is a massive load increase on the electricity supply chain.

To help organisations prepare for the 2012 Olympics and the anticipated drain on supply, Riello has expanded our Master Switch range of Static Transfer Switches (STS) to include models up to 400A. Used in isolation or with a combination of uninterruptible power supplies and generating systems, the extended Master Switch range is ideal for use in projects that require the highest possible levels of resilience and protection of critical loads including data centres, security, surveillance and transportation systems.

For more information on our Master Switch range, click here.

The developers of an innovative ‘wave power’ device claim that within 5 years, their invention will be generating energy for 50,000 UK homes. The ‘Anaconda’ energy converter is currently in the test stage, but recently announced results have shown that each 200 metre rubber tube could generate enough energy to power 1,000 homes.

The Anaconda (named for its resemblance) is anchored to the ocean floor, moving with the tides. The waves in the water create bulges along the tubing that travel along its length gathering energy. At the end of the tube, the surge of energy drives a turbine and generates electricity. It’s rubber construction makes it cheap, resilient and low-maintenance, and the designers, Checkmate Seaenergy Ltd are confident that not only will it be cheaper than it’s wind-farm equivalent , but it will face less opposition from the public as the ‘shoals’ will be under the surface of the water – effectively out of sight. The company are now looking for further investment to sea-test the devices, with the aim of deploying a shoal along the west coast of the UK by 2014.

With the EU targeting the UK to source 15 per cent of all the country’s energy needs from renewables by 2020 (the majority of which is expected to come from wind power ) the Carbon Trust suggests that the Anaconda ‘has the potential to deliver breakthrough reductions in the cost of wave energy’ and that it could ‘represent the next generation of marine renewable energy’.