Dieter Helm on Privatisation of Electricity

If you define the problem as lights going out, he said, you misunderstand everything about the way the new world of electricity markets works. The ideal situation for private electricity firms is one in which there is only just enough electricity to go around. Then they can charge as much as they like, and people will have to pay. "People think insecurity of supply means will the lights go out or not - but that's not the issue," he said. "It's what happens just before they go off."