didnt cameron shut down the biggest gas storage plant because it would cost a million to be refurbished?Originally Posted by vulcangascompany
Sadly yes but the current government seem to be even more short sighted than previous ones.
As to the increased possibility of power cuts there was something on the news today that the national grid are thinking about rebating customers that do not use high drain equipment between the hours of 5?- 8pm.
Yes, maybe at last an incentive to get a smart meter.
I’ve had four cancelled appointments to have smart meters fitted, each time they call to confirm it’s still okay for fitting the next day and within half an hour I get a text saying the appointments been cancelled.
Yeah - that unit looks a bit shonky and introduces ‘uncontrolled automation’ where ‘controlled switching is required.
I’d be quite happy having a CE/BS compliant MCB that connected in to the main consumer unit, but was locked out - and to do the switching ‘personally’ to bring on a generator with cabling in from the back garden - but NOT for situations where the power is required ‘ten minutes ago’ according to teenagers or wife.
I’d also have a printed/laminated checklist for energising/de-energising - it ain’t something to ad-lib on, or dilute.
The backup is for maintaining heat in the house, phones, internet - and anything else is pure luxury.
BUT - perhaps with more elderly neighbours, you might just be preparing to bail them out???
How well does the solar panel work in winter?
On a more practical level, I’d make sure you have a few decent torches round the house with a stock of batteries, and some portable chargers - I’ve got a couple of Anker ones that will charge an iPhone comfortably 3 or 4 times, plus ancillaries like rechargeable led torches and AirPods on top of that. Cost about £30. There are larger versions that will charge a laptop but they’re about £60 upwards. They’re actually useful to keep in your work bag or the car for emergencies, so even if there are no power cuts this winter they’re not a total waste of money!
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We were off for 10 days after storm Arwen .
I would echo much of what has been posted above,
First purchase was a really good inverter. That together with 3 or 4 good car batteries I had in the garage ran the TV in the kitchen, the WiFi (we are on 4 G) and had a USB outlet to charge various devices. The batteries were charged during the day at my office or in extemis with jump leads from one of the cars.
A good butane heater along with open coal fire provided warmth
A Clarke 2.5 kw petrol generator was purchased which would boil a kettle / run a microwave and provide lighting (by my inspection light) to the kitchen. I also have various Makita power tools so had 5 or 6 18v Li-ion batteries all of which could be charged at work and ran 2 Makita torches . Several LED torches were also used around the house .
We were then off for 5 days after Corrie so used all of above
Not looking forward to repeating the exercise this winter though
Four candles..
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
That's actually an interesting point - power cuts due to extreme weather are a distinct possibility.
North Yorkshire? Or are you Scotland, or somewhere more rocky?
N/E Scotland.
Loss of power was the least of our worries after Arwen - tree down on dining room roof (still not sorted) 10 trees tore up the 200m 5 foot fence that was our "lockdown 1" project . One tree demolished the shed that was our "lockdown 2" project. One tree came down on my trailer with my single seater inside. 7 trees pulled down the power lines and power pole which ripped the corner off my gable etc etc
And that was before the fire....
But nobody was injured
But apart from that, no problems...
Apart from the obvious candles,decent torch’s ,power bank and a wind up lantern we have calor gas which we can connect to a two burner camping hob however due to BT now introducing digital phone lines i can no longer connect a simple hand set.
We suffered power outages many years ago when we shared a sub station with the Royal Veterinary College however what we could be facing this Winter in a First World Country is unacceptable but i will leave it there anything further is for the pit.
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
UK National Grid doubles emergency planning exercise from two to four days amid energy crisis: Experts will discuss rationing electricity during crisis talks
Welcome back the 3-day week, TV broadcasts end at 9pm, NHS specs, petrol rationing, rolling power-cuts, mountains of rubbish in the streets, the dead left unburied, unions running the country, rampant inflation, civil servants relishing 'managing Britain's decline' and begging to be allowed back into the EU.
Its a bit like living in Florida during the summer months they prepare for the tornadoes by getting generators in plus water my friend that lives there has it all wired in and ready to go he just flips the switch I hope we don't come to that.
A friend just mentioned these units: https://uk.ecoflow.com/products/delt...-power-station
We had similar in work for back up, really useful piece of kit. Bonus of ita nice and quiet, downside bloody expensive and charging in a power cut might be a pain!
A few years ago the old man got sick of power cuts so he had their house wired with an extra switch so the house can be plugged into a generator, works like a charm
My mate who buys the best of everything has one of these in his caravan
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLUETTI-Por...1545606&sr=8-2
Precisely m8.
In an extended outage, those power packs need electricity to function, which is the only thing you don't have, in an extended outage.
They’re an extremely likely part of UK life. I would say they’re an inevitable fixture.
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Camping Gaz stove, metal kettle, an Aeropress and some good quality ground coffee (or beans and a manual grinder).
Why would you need anything else?
N/E Scotland.
Loss of power was the least of our worries after Arwen - tree down on dining room roof (still not sorted) 10 trees tore up the 200m 5 foot fence that was our "lockdown 1" project . One tree demolished the shed that was our "lockdown 2" project. One tree came down on my trailer with my single seater inside. 7 trees pulled down the power lines and power pole which ripped the corner off my gable etc etc
And that was before the fire....
But nobody was injured
But apart from that, no problems...
.. and here we go again - right on top of the n@ffing power lines
Still - could be in Florida
i have had a 2.4kw honda powered generator in the shed for donkeys moons,started it yesterday for the first time in years .put some fresh petrol in it ,started third pull[the first two dummy here had the kill switch in the off position]checked it was charging,all good.hopefully i wont need it,but i know its there just in case.
We have moved from national grid saying 'cannot happen' to 'unlikely' which means good chance of it actually happening:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63155827British households could lose power for up to three hours at a time this winter if gas supplies run extremely low, National Grid has warned.
The company said it was an "unlikely" scenario but added that supply interruptions were a possibility if the energy crisis escalated.
Cuts would probably occur at peak times such as morning or early evening, and customers would be warned in advance.
But as a "base case" National Grid expects homes will face no problems.
Customers would be warned in advance about the power cuts, which would occur at peak times, possibly in the morning, or more likely between 4pm and 7pm.
The cuts would be rotated so not all areas of the country were affected at the same time.
Some advice on gear from the experts in sunny South Africa
https://iafrica.com/load-shedding-es...load-shedding/
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This, some matches and firewood.
Seems that our summer camping kit could come in handy this winter...maybe
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e...rrow-wdb95w58fHouseholds in Britain could be paid to avoid a blackout tomorrow evening after National Grid said it was poised to activate its emergency winter plan for the first time.
Low temperatures and outages on the nuclear power fleet in France are set to put pressure on energy supplies in Britain, leading the national energy provider to warn that it may need to use its new “demand flexibility service”, a contingency scheme aimed at reducing household consumption when supply is tight.
As in previous years, National Grid has counted on the French national energy provider, EDF, for supplies over winter — but nearly half of the country’s nuclear reactors, on which France relies for 70 per cent of its energy, are offline.
Having a Tesla Powerwall installed so hopefully that will provide some back up.
Ceramic BBQ, gas Ooni and Tilley lamp. Sorted
A couple of good down sleeping bags. Read at the weekend the Germans are going nuts over candles, although very, very slim odds they'll have power outages, seems more a lifestyle, lets get back to the romance/simplicity/ purity? of a flame kinda thing...perhaps some similarity with the Danes hygge notion.
I've just stocked up on tea-lights, gas for my camping stove, batteries for my torches and radios, charged my power banks and of course toilet rolls. I've got a small gas heater on the way, which uses the same canisters as the stove. You just never know!
I remember the power cuts in 73 it was an adventure then, now it would just be a PITA.
Feel I might be missing out on a jolly, possibly character building, great national adventure. Nah, maybe not.
Be safe everyone.
I did much of the above 2/3 months ago, + oil for hurricane lantern and standard candles, going on this governments past record anything is possible.
Last edited by number2; 28th November 2022 at 17:02.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I have a Poweroak AC50 which has 500Wh of capacity and can output up to 300W at 240v. So it's not enough to run the freezer, but it did stop me having to go into work the other day when we had a local power cut for most of the morning.
It can run the Broadband router, 2 laptops and 2 monitors all day long and still have spare for lighting.
It's tempting to get something like this, but it seems a bit silly. Hope that statement doesn't come back to bite me.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/impax-im1...tor-240v/843hp
In sensible mode, a head torch and spare batteries for everyone in the house, and a good selection of books.
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