comment by
Thomas Hummel
Times are tense, and some are worried about the future. Public officials should be careful not to fuel fears with thoughtless statements. An example of this is the President of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK). Ralph Tiesler explained in the world on Sunday: “We have to assume that there will be blackouts in winter.” That’s just plain wrong. The term “blackout” describes an uncontrolled collapse of the power grid with serious consequences. Network operators have been saying for months that this is not to be expected even under the most difficult conditions.