The Godfather: Peter Corris on electricity

Tags: Elizabeth Riddell/ Rupert Murdoch

Eventually the endless media discussion about power prices got to me and, in an idle moment, I fell to counting up the number of sources of electricity and appliances in our relatively spacious one-bedroom flat which is, mercifully, fairly easy to heat and cool. Here is the tally:

5 overhead lights

2 small oil heaters – sparingly used

1 clothes drier likewise

1 washing machine

2 computers

2 lamps

1 television

1 bench-top dishwasher – high efficiency rated

1 toaster

1 oven

1 stove-top

1 microwave oven

1 refrigerator – high efficiency

1 toaster

1 electric jug – frequently used

1 blender – infrequently used

1 hot water unit

1 air-conditioner – sparingly used

(Happily no towel warmers, fans or kitchen waste disposal.)

The total of 25 greatly surprised me. Before adding it up I would have guessed at about a dozen. One of the news reports had someone stressing the more economical use of household power. You’ll have noted that my annotations have been somewhat defensive. I’m known to leave lights burning unnecessarily. This reminds of something I was told by Elizabeth Riddell, then Literary Editor of the Australian, for whom I used write reviews. She said Rupert Murdoch used to go about the News Limited building turning off lights. Perhaps I should take my cue from the Dirty Digger.