What is a "blackout"?

[Fiestyfish]

I keep seeing in the papers about possible "blackouts" this winter due to the energy issues but what will this entail? Short power cuts? Power cuts that last days? No heating?

@Fiestyfish

Oh wow ok. Do we think this is a real possibility? Should I do something to prepare?! I’m very unprepared for this kind of thing, generally run batteries right down etc

Back in the day (70s), we'd all be sitting watching TV of an evening and the lights and heating would go off with No notice.
Everyone went to bed.
There was a baby boom 9 months later
My family were campers so we cooked off a 2 ring camping gas stove and used gas lights or candles to see by.
As a less than 10 year old it was fun. I'm not sure today's 10 year old would cope without their iPads.

IIRC, in the 1970s they shut down areas of the grid (publicised in advance) on a rota basis, so that everyone had their turn.

They would leave the power on for hospitals and certain other critical infrastructure. And to houses where there was someone in home kidney dialysis. And as the cuts were by area, if you had one of those buidlings on your bits of the network, you kept your power.

So yes, oil lamps, candles, torches for most people, except the immediate neighbours of hospitals etc

If you have a look at the national risk register you'll see the risk of a black start type event (as badly portrayed in Cobra). It's a low risk high impact event. Hard to prepare for.

www.nationalgrideso.com/industry-information/balancing-services/system-security-services/black-start

I remember blackouts as quite exciting in my childhood. Probably less so as an adult 🤦🏻‍♀️

Can anyone recommend any good gas camping stove? I feel it would be useful to have one as all my house is electric!!!

We have loads of unplanned power cuts where we live (UK, but a bit off the beaten track). The idea of having advance warning of one seems like a luxury!

As a child I remember a power cut that lasted 3 days. The longest one we’ve had here was mid-afternoon until sometime in the middle of the night. Usually they are 1-3 hours and the only real problem is when they arrive in the middle of cooking something. I think they’re easier than the ones we had as a child because we have so many good lighting options now with LED technology. You’ll probably be surprised how many battery operated LED lights you already have around your house; Christmas lights, novelty lights and light-boxes, bike lamps, etc. The only ones I’ve bought specifically are 2 sensor ones that go at the top and bottom of the stairs.

We are lucky enough to have a wood burner for heat and very basic cooking/heating of water. I did invest in a generator some years ago, but it’s noisy and inconvenient and so we’ve only used it once.

Top tip is just to get into the habit of keeping everything charged, consider investing in a USB power bank and know where all the batteries and battery lights are. Oh, and board games of course!

I remember it too! Yes everyone had candles. I hope it’s just media talk.

We lived in an ex coal board cottage which had a coal fire and coal stove and oil pit lamps in the 70's so our aunt's and gp came, it was very social.
I'm trying to imagine how it would work out now, back then we supported the strikes so being stoic was another way to show solidarity.
After seeing the fuel fiasco recently I'll bet if they do cut power we will have issues.

I lived for nine years somewhere with quite regular power outages. They came without warning but after a few years living there you could kind of guess when they'd be likely to come. We lived in a flat, so no electricity meant no water, which was more annoying. We had even more regular water outages than we did power, actually.

We stored containers of water for flushing the toilet, but we'd buy cheap bottles of mineral water for washing with, since the stored water went a bit manky sitting there for months waiting to be used.

For the power, we just had candles, mostly tealights. We had gas for cooking anyway. I have a kindle so could keep occupied, but we also had a few power banks for other devices.

The hardest was last year when we had a huge ice storm that took out the power (and consequently the water) and the 4G. No heating, no washing, almost no connectivity at all. The shopping malls had generators so everyone was huddled in them, staying warm and charging their phones. They got everything back online in less than 24 hours, but it was a bit grim.

I bought some led light switches from amazon last year, also I have decent torch and head torch. You can make a really good lamp by putting a head torch round and plastic milk bottle filled with water.
Also in the store cupboard are spare batteries and a wind up torch/radio/phone charger.
We have a couple of spare duvets for if the heating goes off.
Good shout about thermos flasks.
Be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully blackouts won't be too long lasting if they happen.

When we become so obsessed with any form of self generating power being 'bad for the environment' we are not at the mercy of global super polluters!

Refuse fracking in the UK, buy over priced power from a corupt, polluting, dictarorship!

@TheQueef

The electricity will be turned off.

They were quite exciting in the 70's but we weren't as reliant then.

I used to find them quite exciting…but I had just moved in with boyfriend so we used to rather enjoy them 😊😊

It was exciting as a child in the 70’s, the house lit with candles and playing board games as there was no TV.
I didn’t miss the heating as we didn’t have any !

It's a long way from inevitable.

The Guardian: "If there were a major outage in nuclear generation, the wind stopped blowing again as happened last month, and the French went ahead with threats to cut electricity supplies over the fishing row, it is not inconceivable that blackouts could happen"

That's a lot of ifs...no wind?...in the winter? We have torches and camping gas in a camping box we could break out in the event of blackout but I'm not worried about it.

@Leftbutcameback

Suggest some large bottles of water too, as it can be reliant on pumping. The water companies do provide water but long queues and takes a while

Why would there be a water shortage?

Before anyone panics, we did know when the electricity was going off. So you could cook tea earlier and get wrapped up.

Pumps require electricity?

@Fiestyfish

I keep seeing in the papers about possible "blackouts" this winter due to the energy issues but what will this entail? Short power cuts? Power cuts that last days? No heating?

From what I remember of the 1970's blackouts, they were scheduled and shared around, as it were. Hospitals were protected from them, homes weren't. They would last less than 24 hours, not days. We were all-electric so yes - no heating. None. Hot water bottles and extra layers! Because they were scheduled and you knew when they'd start you could prepare your hot water bottle and a flask of tea.

@CraftyGin because power is needed to pump water. Black start planning works on a 7 day scenario for all of the electricity to be back online as the grid needs to be powered back on gradually. Treatment works need power to to treat water. We can live without a lot of things for a few days but drinking water isn't one of them. www.thetimes.co.uk/article/water-supply-was-affected-when-august-blackouts-hit-a-million-homes-vvmpplm53

Not exactly ideal for those working from home is it? We have a UPS on one of our computers and from memory it lasts a few hours but much longer and it'd be tricky.

I remember power cuts from the 70s and from much later in my dad's home country where they were frequent and unpredictable. At least we may find out in advance and be able to prepare.

So LED lights, keeping electonics charged and hot water in flasks. Maybe earplugs for all the house alarms going off in the area!

My sister and I are here today thanks to the 70s blackouts!!

Make sure your smoke alarms are working if you have candles.

Dad wired up our old TV to the car battery when we had power cuts. TV wasn't digital then.

Before anyone panics, we did know when the electricity was going off. So you could cook tea earlier and get wrapped up

Still panicking

We get power cuts all the time in the country.

We have candles and torches and fully charged power packs in one place.

We have a one ring calor gas camping stove to boil water or heat quick food.

We have a log burner so whack that on.

Fairy lights everywhere anyway which are battery powered.

We have a traditional plug in phone that doesn't need electricity.

We kind of enjoy them if they come at the Weekend. We put the fire on, tether everyone's Internet to a phone or play games or eat biscuits and drink wine.