Consequences of long-term power outages and high electricity prices lasting for months

Several areas in the world have experienced electricity outages for longer periods of time, but the consequences of these are sparsely documented. There is a need for further analysis of the socioeconomic consequences of the outages. In addition to KILE (Quality adjusted revenue framework for un supplied energy) costs one has to take into account that the costs often increase proportionally with the durance of the outage, and that KILE tariffs do not reflect lost consumer's surplus for products that are not produced during an outage. A good example is the public underground transport, where the company's economical loss can be significantly smaller than the loss of utility value for the travellers. If the authorities act with reasonability it is difficult to see that periods with very high prices represent a big problem. The most important problems are related to diffused effects, especially for households with a weak economy. These problems can be solved with improved contractual forms (price guarantees) or by transfers to the households, without weakening the incentives for electricity economising (ml).