Electrical maintenance completed yet the problems persist

lectricians get called in for all sorts of electrical, or supposedly electrical, problems. Their bills are paid, yet problems persist. People in the IT department complain about an inexplicable rash of failures with computer power supplies. Lift mechanics are called in to fix control problems, which disappear when they arrive and promptly show up after they have gone. And emergency lighting is mysteriously activated when all else is normal. These events all seem like unavoidable irritations that are just part of life. The word commonly used to describe these events is ‘gremlins’ as in, ‘We have checked the switchboard, checked voltage, checked sub-distribution boards – all good. Guess the problems you have are because of gremlins.’ The implication is that