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.

The hobs will work, gas still comes out, just light them with a match. The oven won't though.

@Eeksteek A woman after my own heart!
We have been prepping for a few years now. We ditched the central heating and put in a log burner. We have bottled gas for the stove hob and plenty of paraffin lamps and 12 hour candle lamps for light. Our next purchase will be an Ecoflow.
I do believe that there will be cuts. The introduction of smart meters and smart thermostats is the first stage. There has already been talk of restricting electricity at peak times.

Lots of interesting articles recently about energy, of course. We have been importing some energy, as pointed out by a previous pp, when it was very hot, but in fact recently the UK is now a net exporter of both gas and electricity. It's a balance, that's why we have all the pipes and cables, power and gas goes back and forth. Interesting article in the telegraph today highlighting how in a few years (sadly not imminent), but soon, we will have the largest capacity IN THE WORLD of wind power. However excess needs storing, so again, another leap in technology is required to enable us to do that.

I live rurally so have more power cuts than most. We have logburners as alternative heat source. Kettle and lidded pan so I can cook on stove and make coffee. Easy food to cook. Power banks for phones. I always keep a film or two downloaded on the iPad for the kids that they haven’t seen. The mobile phone network often goes down during a power outage so no internet at all. A rolling blackout for 3-4 hours a day wouldn’t really bother me if I knew in advance.

If they ration electricity then you may be able to stay connected. I know during the winter of discontent, there was someone on a dialysis machine living next to my parents and the electricity would be back on within 20 minutes (time for them to phone and get it back on again) if the machine was in use at the time.

for several years the town I live in has turned off street lights at midnight

My village does the same. It's not ideal for shift workers coming home late/very early though.

Invest in a good torch. They can also help at home by being decent illumination when stood on their tail too, given how efficient LEDs are now.

@BigWoollyJumpers I hadn't realised that, thanks, useful to know

In the 70s loss of power wasn’t random. We knew exactly when it would be cut so we filled flasks and hot water bottles just before it went off. We coped then and we’ll cope again if it happens.

And this is why time of use tariffs are a good idea. Shame that people are being discouraged from using them and energy companies are discontinuing them.

I'd be happy to charge my storage heaters and heat my immersion mid-morning to early afternoon.

Electricity companies ought to be devising and incentivising flexible time of use tariffs precisely to help smooth demand.

Agreed working hours may have to be adjusted.

We're used to power cuts in our old home good idea to download movies though. We'll just go to bed early, and watch something. I love books OH on the other hand doesn't

Power companies are equipped for this if it's life and death they can supply generator that plugs into where the main fuses goes

Adjusting working hours would be fun with international clients. 'I'm so sorry we can't meet online at X time, we will all be huddling around our candles'.

Agreed working hours may have to be adjusted.

which work places / sectors do you envisage this happening in?

How many generators do you think they have available on standby? How would they install them and keep them fuelled up given how poorly DNOs (power companies) coped during for example Storm Arwen. Thousands of people were left without power for days and mobile generators (aimed at powering communities) were sometimes allowed to run out of fuel. I can't imagine they have the resources to supply individual generators to everyone who would need one for vulnerability reasons.

This is how it should work in theory. However, in practice, that isn’t how it has always worked in the past, for example during the storms. Some families were left paying for hotels, travelling hundreds of miles to stay with family when it wasn’t ideal due to the disabled person’s needs or disabled people being admitted to hospital.

All of those which aren’t life sustaining. In the 70s we went down to a three day week, shops offices had to be closed for two days out of five.

Some of them will be in the same situation.

It will be a local cable issue rather than a national grid issue. Sometimes the cable running down the road especially in rural areas just isn't big enough for everyone being served to pump several kw of energy back in. At the moment anyone can install up to just under 4kW of PV and the DNO has to accommodate it.

There is also no point pumping electricity to the grid when it doesn't need it, lack of storage capability

If you have solar so will many other places

Nah, I just love my camper van and my coffee machine. I’ve been trying to get a log burner installed for years (always had one in previous houses) just because I love them, but had a financially disastrous few years.

Although given the faith I have in the current government to look after ordinary people, perhaps I should start…. My late husband had a thing about solar flares and prepping (not that he actually did anything about them, just hung about on Internet forums catastrophitising!). I do have a friend who’s trying be more self sufficing and calls it ‘apocalypse gardening!’

Such an vast amount understanding of the European energy markets and energy security, surplus and deficit on this thread and I had no idea about most of it.

Germany was mentioned as in my second post I explain that is where my friends contact is based and how the conversation arose.

Along side some practical advice.

I'M going to buy a couple of lanterns and a flask I think and we can make do everything else. Oh and download some films!

Can you now imagine a time when everyone plugs their cars in at 6pm to charge overnight!

I had a guy come out yesterday to quote us for a second log burner which is going in in two weeks’ time. We are putting it in an outbuilding which is my office. It’s only two rooms and a small shower room but in the event of significant power issues in winter it will be easier to heat than the house and so we could all stay out there temporarily. We were lucky in that he has a suitable stove which someone had ordered and then changed their mind on and so we have been able to skip the 8 week queue (which he said is unheard of at this time of year)