Clocks in Europe are Slowing Down, Political Situation Between Serbia-Kosovo to be Blamed
Serbia is obliged to meet Kosovo's demand which in turn can keep the electricity grid stable. But the political disputes between the two for almost a decade now, Serbia did not help.
Most of the people have a habit of tuning their clocks 5-10 minutes ahead so that reach anywhere on time. It is a tendency to set up alarms a little before to take advantage of the 'extra' time ahead of us. But certain Europeans are facing a problem as their digital clocks are running behind the schedule. Why you'd wonder? Then it is due to the ongoing row between Serbi and Kosovo, disrupting the electric power grid for most of the Continent. The digital clocks, ones on the ovens, heating appliances are running up to 6 minutes slower.
It seems quite a strange effect of a dispute affecting time clocks since the month of January. Although the computers and smartphones haven't been affected by this. The reason is a linked electricity grid powers larger part of Europe- from Spain to Turkey and from Poland to the Netherlands. It all operates in a synchronised frequency and Kosovo did not generate enough electricity to meet its needs. Serbia is obliged to meet Kosovo's demand which in turn can keep the electricity grid stable. But the political disputes between the two for almost a decade now, Serbia did not help.
Due to this, the frequency deviated and the drop affected the clocks. The fluctuation in power supply is minute but it is causing a difference to their clocks, people obviously won't be happy! European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSOE) which looks after the power supply grid said this is the first time they are seeing something like this. The spokesperson Susanne Nies told BBC, "Surplus energy would need to be generated and fed into the system over time for the balance to be redressed across the continent." They have called for an agreement between the authorities of two nations to end the disruption.
The ENTSOE also said they are working on a technical solution to resolve the time falling back. But more than technical, a political solution is must here. Technology binding nations is seeing the adverse effects in parts of Europe.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2018 04:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).