Madam, - Some years ago in Lugano, Switzerland, I experienced a terrific thunderstorm. For over two hours the sky blazed with lightning, and thunder boomed continuously.
Yet life continued; the cafes put out awnings, electric trolley-buses and trains ran normally, and not once did the lights even flicker.
I have experienced similar storms in Interlaken where short, violent electrical storms are common at the end of hot summer days. Only once do I remember a slight flicker when one bolt came down near by.
Whenever thunderstorms occur in Ireland, as last weekend, we hear of power being lost to thousands of homes and businesses while ESB workers strive to cope with faults. It is not unusual for homes to be without electricity for over 24 hours.
Why? Does Ireland have "the wrong sort of lightning"? The Swiss, like the ESB, carry current around the country on steel towers (though the Swiss do have an earthed line along the top). Or is it that, as in so many things, the Irish have become so used to bad service that breakdowns no longer surprise them?
I have great admiration for the line crews who work under difficult conditions to put things right, but what is wrong with the equipment that they so often have to put their lives at risk? - Yours, etc.,
A.E. SOMERFIELD, Churchtown, Dublin 14.