As relevant today as it was eighty years ago

When I saw this sign on the weekend, it struck me that its message is just as valid today as when it was put on the wall. But when and where was that?

The time was World War II, and the place was the Cabinet War Rooms - Churchill's secret underground war headquarters, a few paces from 10 Downing Street, and where he and hundreds of others worked, and often slept.

But where did the electricity come from behind that switch, that lit the claustrophobic, tobacco-stained rooms?

I'm 1945 Britain, the answer was 97.6% coal. Remarkably, that figure didn't drop below 50% until 1995 - exactly fifty years later. Zip forward 20 years, to 2015, and coal use had dropped to a quarter, before plummeting to single-digit figures for every year since.

Today, 80 years after that sign was put up, the figure for coal in the UK electricity generation fuel mix is nil, and renewables (wind, solar, hydro and biomass will likely surpass 50%, just as it did for the first time last year. That's a remarkable transformation during a single lifetime.

When someone hand-painted the sign, many essentials were rationed, and electricity was precious. There was simply no room for waste. We don't suffer rationing today, but perhaps we should treat electricity with equal care - making it and balancing it is still remarkably hard work.

Turn off that switch, please.

The Cabinet War Rooms are one of London's hidden gems, run by the charity Imperial War Museums, with many of the rooms left exactly as they were in 1945 (even down to one forgetful Map Room officer's precious sugar ration!) If you have a couple of hours to visit I strongly recommend it. It's right by Big Ben and 10 Downing Street. How to visit.

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