[Avodah] Electricity

[Michael Mirsky]

Micha Berger raised as a possible issue:

"7- There is also the issue of causing the power plant to burn more fuel,
but that is obviously dismissed by anyone who uses Chevrat haChashmal's
power on Shabbos."

I'm an electrical engineer working for the power company here in 
Toronto.  When I suggested that it's a Psik Raisha (inevitability) at 
a lecture being given by Zome, and the best reason for not turning on 
something on Shabbat, he effectively rebutted that claim (I forget 
who gave the lecture).

The reason is that yes, it is true that the power system is always 
working in a perfect balance between how much power the generators 
are putting out and the instantaneous demand.  So if you flip the 
switch on an electrical appliance, if the demand from everyone else 
is constant, then your action causes more fuel to be burnt at the 
power plant (unless it's hydroelectric - then it's just more water 
flow).  But the key idea is that people on the system are constantly 
turning on and off lights and appliances.  You can't be sure that at 
the instant you turned your light on, someone didn't turn their light 
off, and so the net impact would be no impact on the output level of 
the generators. So it's not psik raisha.

The final conclusion he came to is likely only turning on 
incandescent bulbs is a malacha de'oraisa becase of heating the 
filament to a very high temperature which is "aish".  But in reality, 
fluorescent lights, LEDs etc would be OK, but as had been discussed, 
initiation of use of electricity on Shabbat has become assured by the 
rabbanan so it's a moot point le'chatchila.  And a possible sevora is 
a kind of a syag - people would get confused - I can turn this on, 
but not that - and eventually turn on the wrong thing.

Michael Mirsky 
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