No Service: Profitability Is The New Power
Day 3 of having no power due to a storm. No service: Profitability is the new power. Yes, this post is written under the duress of being cut off from electricity in my home and work. We live in a time, where being connected to the grid is more essential than ever before. Everything now runs on electricity. My gripe is that despite this clear and present reality, we are still dependent upon outdated and fragile infrastructure. 50 years ago, as I was growing up, I heard about the plans to put the power lines underground. Indeed, this has been achieved in many new suburbs. I do wonder why in this wonderful new world of privatised utilities how so many more established suburbs and towns have not been transformed in this subterranean fashion. Storms wreak havoc to power lines on poles.
“Three days of severe storms have caused widespread power outages across south-east Queensland, closing schools and affecting mobile phone coverage. This year’s Queensland storm activity has been the highest since 2013, and some residents are dealing with damage from multiple weather events.”
- (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-26/qld-storms-clean-up-power-outages-school-closures/106050126)
No Power As Consumers Run Last To Profits
Neoliberalism has seen many of our services, which were previously government services, transferred into private hands. This happened under the promise of cheaper and better run services. Neither of these things have been unequivocally delivered. The energy utilities have been split up into wholesalers and retailers, with all the retailers being private corporations. Even those services which remain in government hands have been infected with the zombie neoliberalism virus that now run our lives. Everything is about profitability, despite the actual reason for the existence of these utilities being a service. The neoliberalism virus has stripped the serve out of service. To serve is an honourable thing but that is no more when a small coterie of investors is all about maximising profits. The game has changed; and not for the better.
No Power & No Service After The Storm
Profitability concerns mean trimming the budget for things like having enough crews and replacement infrastructure ready for every eventuality. If you are running things on the smell of an oily rag, as many modern companies and entities do these days, when disaster strikes you are f*****. To use a technical term. To compound matters, in this online era, everything is dependent upon electricity. No internet because the lines that carry the data don’t work. Therefore, you cannot access emergency information relating to your situation. All of our mobile phones don’t work either due to the same reasons. It is a cluster f***. Sorry to use all this technical jargon. It is Day 3 of having nothing work and the food rotting in my disempowered fridge and freezer. No service: Profitability is the new power.
In The Dark After The Storm
So, you sit in the dark, literally and metaphorically. There are no clear lines of communication informing you when they will get the power back on. This, I thought, was what the wonderful digital world was all about – brilliant communication. Apparently not, folk dying from not being able to make emergency 000 calls on their smart phones. Not so smart, hey! Hackers and scammers having a picnic at our expense. Optus and Telstra apologising. A lot of our energy is owned by billionaires in SE Asia. Many folk are not aware of who owns what these days.
No Warning About Storm Given
Not much has changed from the days we used to say, ‘technology is great when it works!’ The new $96 million BOM website gave me no warning of this violent storm and I did not get anything from my insurance company or any other news site! So much for the brilliant age of online communication.
AI & The Coming Unemployment Storm
“AI is coming for your job. As someone who has just been replaced by an automated program this is real, let me tell you. In light of this it is pertinent to remember that Australia punishes the unemployed economically. It is bipartisan policy of Australian governments to provide below the poverty line welfare payments to the unemployed. This has been going on for decades and is one of the reasons why we have a substantial number of older Australians living in poverty. These folk cannot afford to visit the dentist to get treatment because it is too expensive and dental is not included in Medicare. This in one of the wealthiest nations on earth.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK
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