Will there be power cuts or energy rationing in autumn winter?

[cherrypiepie]

A friend mentioned this is likely. Is it and how do I prep.

Have a gas hob and a log fire, bought an power bank for devices (phone) but not sure what this actually means and will it happen? How do I prep?

I'm thinking like the winter of discontent? Before I was born so not really sure what is going to happen ir if I have got mixed up.

I'm putting and other £100 aside for energy bills. This time last year it was £66 a month now it £115. Sure it's will go up again.

Well if there is we've had 4 continuous days' practice courtesy of Storm Arwen last winter so I think we'll cope!

Personally, I would be happy to sit in the dark and cold so that Russia can have it's backside kicked hard and their army destroyed by NATO weapons at the hands of the brave fighters of Ukraine.

Caving into Russia would unleash far greater trouble down the line and make Pootin the defacto leader of the world.

Last week the govt bought in extra energy from Belgium to shore up the grid, at astronomical prices - that’s not sustainable long term so yes, I would expect to see blackouts. We will have fully charged power banks, rechargeable lights and a single ring gas cooker in the cupboard should we need to.

Any tips for the less experienced?

We have power cuts quite often. I have power banks that are always fully charged. I have battery operated and solar operated lights rather than using candles but I do have those as well. We have a gas BBQ so can always cook. We aren’t on mains gas so rely on electric and our oil heating.

I am considering buying a portable gas heater as we were our longest without power last cut which was just short of 3 days.

It would be a nightmare for families with disabilities. Ds is pump fed overnight and not being able to charge the battery would be a problem but if we knew it was coming we could be prepared but other people have equipment they need plugged in to stay alive.

Story here - Buying electricity from Belgium

At present from my reading of the papers there is no plan to disrupt domestic supply - but we may all be asked to minimise use especially at key times

Businesses may well be asked to power down at times

I think there is a risk, yes. Although we only get 4% of our gas from Russia, we are really vulnerable to restricted supply from elsewhere, simply because we have so little capacity to store gas ahead of winter.

As we saw during the extreme heat spell, increased demand and maintenance issues in Europe, as well as our increased demand meant that parts of London came close to a blackout. What happens in Europe, cascades to us. I think we need to be sensibly prepared.

No there won't. Scare mongering crap from the media. Again.

Yes I think we will. Already happening in Germany, no hot water in public buildings. As with covid, most other European countries are light years ahead of us in planning for the worst...

Do you work in the electricity industry?

DH works in the energy industry and has said he thinks - although there has been no official guidance as yet - that there will "brownouts" rather than blackouts (comparison chart attached).

If you know someone vulnerable, try and ensure they are on the priority services register. www.ofgem.gov.uk/getting-extra-help-priority-services-register

We had a brownout in the SE during the heatwave already, aircons etc went down in the high street.

@mommybear1 Snap, but mine is more pessimistic generally so is going for blackouts (hence the prepping🙄).

Our last house, the power was always dropping out when there was a storm so I have paraffin lamps and paraffin. Our new house has a log burner and a wood shed full of wood. When I heard about the govt buying power from Belgium last week, I bought several large packs of candles as well.

We'll cope and the neighbours are always welcome. 😊

Great thanks.

Candles
Torch
Lantern
Power bank
Single Gas ring

Will out gas job still work? It's a Rangemaster dual fuel classic 110 (I think)

It wasn't from the media it was an industry associate in Germany who mentioned their offices had been moved from domestic to industrial supply to reduce threat m.

Anything else for my list.

If you have a tower pc then a UPS will avoid sudden shutdowns that can damage your pc, which can happen even with brownouts. They consist of a big battery and surge protection. Some can be rigged to tell the pc to shut down properly independently.

We plug our internet router and a couple of other low powered bits into a UPS to keep our internet going for sometime in the event of a local power loss. I bought it because my pc needed a new hard drive after one too many brownouts blipped it on and off, but I think it did help when we had a local lightning strike that damaged other neighbours equipment. I wouldn't rely on one to protect equipment from lightning strikes though. Much better to unplug equipment.

You can also buy surge protection strips. I'm not sure whether they really work. @mommybear1 @Changedmynamefor do your partners have any opinion on these?

Lots and lots of blankets. These will be useful anyway if we can’t afford to have the heating on.

We used to have power cuts all the time as a child (old rural house) and if you’ve got a log fire and a gas cooker you’ll be fine.
Power banks are handy for phones etc, get some battery powered lanterns and torches and as long as you’re warm and can eat, you’ll be fine. Maybe a few extra blankets for bedrooms.
There is a LOT of slack in the system though - look at cities at night, lights on etc, those will be prioritised before homes.
I live in Sydney now and we went through a stage of power cuts because of wild storms and having a backup generator would be really handy as it means the fridge can keep going. They don’t keep the lights on but do stop you having to chuck away food.
So - log fire for heat (and cooking jacket potatoes and s’mores!), gas hob for cooking and making tea, power banks for phones, lamps for light and if you can afford it, a generator for the fridge.

I’ve got a UPS and it was about £70 or so from Amazon a few years ago. I suffer power cuts frequently so it’s good to have that backup. Sirzy- you could plug his equipment in through that and on “normal days” it’s just like an extension lead, but if there’s a power cut it’ll just keep on working and won’t fry the electrics if there are surges.

People use too much energy anyway. I’ve visited houses where the heating is permanently on 23c and they’re walking around in shorts and tshirt! It’s no bad thing if they’re forced to turn it down to 18 and put a jumper and trousers on.

Could someone link to a ups and to a generator that would keep a fridge running?

Someone mentioned on another thread that you can let your suppliers know & you'll get an energy continuous supply, but I'm not sure how accurate that is, well worth asking though.