Switzerland plans to block websites during power outages

swissinfo.ch

5 points·ricardo81··5 comments

Base stations use 5-15 kW[1] so it seems good to pay some attention on how they are treated when emergency masures kick in to fend off power grid collapse.

[1] https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/5g-base-stations-use-a-l...

I wonder if anyone has modelled the energy impact of users flocking to alternate platforms as popular websites are shutdown. Seems ripe for abuse and unintended consequences.

The energy impact is at least plausibly subzero; the sites are chosen for sending lots of bytes, like Youtube. If Youtube is shut down, your site doesn't have the outgoing capacity to send as many bytes per second as Youtube does.

Also, the first step to abuse it is to effect a partial shutdown of the Swiss power grid, which will… I suppose it will be easier than effecting a partial shutdown of gravity ;)

Maybe it'll become easier after 2034? https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kernreaktoren_in_der...

Or more difficult? https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/d...

Safe nuclear power requires frequent inspections and sometimes urgent repairs, when the inspections find something wrong. That's what led to the biggest drop in production we've had in fifty years or so. Unsafe nuclear power doesn't have that problem, of course, but the Swiss will hardly sacrifice safety in order to keep Youtube.

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