Really quite concerned about energy blackouts.

[User63683783736363]

Anyone else? If they actually happen. Hopefully it's just the media scaring us, I try and stay away from the news.

before anyone tells me in being hysterical, please hear me out. I know that all of us are in the same boat but..

I have two dc, both with sen. No power would be hell on Earth if it's the evenings. We had a power cut last night due to bad weather, it was stressful. They need routine. DS is petrified of the dark. We have torches and candles but it's still not ideal.

as well as this I'm concerned about how cut off we will be. Live in the middle of nowhere, don't get phone signal indoors at home so we rely heavily on the internet, wi-fi calling and even now our landline is plugged into our router after having a letter from BT to tell us to do so, so it's not like we can even use an old wired landline.

would mobile phone masts go out in a blackout? Sorry if I sound clueless , we don't get indoor signal but do get outdoor - but I can't sit outside for hours just in case someone needs to contact us.

I have two vulnerable relatives and worried they won't be able to get through for whatever reason!

again, sorry if sound ott. I wasn't too worried but after our power cut last evening for several hours, it got me worried.

There’s a leaked dossier today about the gov’t war gaming 7 day blackouts across vast swathes of the nation.

I can't find the link now but you can Google and find out the exact days and times for any possible blackouts in your area. They're 3 hour blackouts, 3 or 4 times a week depending on where you live. This might reassure you as then you can plan a little better knowing beforehand when they might be.

Mobile phone masked have backup generators, so they will not go out if there is a black out. Get power banks and ensure your phone is charged up as much as possible.

I'd hope they are preparing for very much the worse case scenario.

Here is the schedule for level 1 blackouts

We are more likely to have rolling blackouts for a few hours then a 7 day blackout.

However the rolling blackouts are extremely unlikely to happen.

It's just disaster planning which the government and various bodies have to do so they know how to deal with national emergencies.

The reason we are all freaking out is the government did one a few years before Covid, it was a failure and the issues that arose weren't fixed before Covid happened.

I've worked with a government department who had to put a disaster plan in place for an occasion that happened a decade ago and no disaster happened. My DP works for a body that has to do similar and most of the disasters happen once per a working life time.

Trying again

Please dont panic too much, remember everyone will be in the same boat IF it happens.

Worry and panic will not help, You need to prepare now just INCASE it happens.
I am in the same boat, live rural and have zero phone signal in my home. If you really need the internet for your dc could you possibly get a 4g dongle which you just top up?

I definitely think some of it is scaremongering. National Grid have published their Winter Outlook document which outlines what they're doing to manage electricity supply and demand over the winter but the unpredictable thing is obviously the weather.

If we get a very cold, low wind period we will have higher demand and lower supply. Usually that would be compensated by bringing in more from the continent but if gas supplies are limited over there they may not have enough to spare.

To manage that, they're keeping coal stations in reserve (we've typically been using very low levels of coal in recent years); have introduced a consumer (Octopus) based demand flexibility service where consumers get paid to reduce their consumption. In addition industrial/ commercial "demand side response" (where big consumers of electricity get paid to turn off) is a vital part of the Grid's existing mechanisms for keeping the network balanced - and getting one large user to turn off is far less impacting than turning off thousands of homes.

(impacting on life I meant - ie the same energy saving can be achieved by impacting one business rather than thousands of individuals)

It seems quite likely to happen, so best to prepare in advance.

Hopefully these ones won't be too bad as we'll have notice of when they'll happen so can plan.

We live rurally aswell and this time last year our power was out for 4 days and our DD was 3 months old so it was tough. Luckily we have quite a lot of bits to get us through but we were not planning on being without for so long so we weren't as on top of it as we would have liked.

I think you are getting yourself into a panic. It won't be hell on earth. It will unpleasant but the first wave so to speak is three hours a time three days a week or something like that.

You would know when it was and you would be able to prepare yourself and them as much as you can.

Also, you may be able to plan to go to a friends house during your hours.

I live rurally and used to live off grid.
we don’t have a landline but have satellite broadband and the transmitters have back up power supply so all I have to do is keep the router going. Most mobile phone masts don’t have back up power unless they are strategically important.

Im planning to be able to be without for a week as a worst case. So I was given a small generator and I won’t run it constantly but it will enable me to use the internet and phone and keep the freezers going.
Battery lantern for lighting, possibly the old Tilley lamp. Heat from the wood burner.

it was the communications issue that bothered me most but I’ve sorted that one now.

Why do you think it's likely?

This is the chart that gives you the time blocks for your zone

7 concurrent days of no power?

You should be prepared for blackouts anyway. Even without the energy crisis there could be blackouts at any point due to a storm without warning. It's likely to be a few hours at most and with some notice. If it's for longer, make a back up plan e.g. can you stay at a relatives or go somewhere in the community. There's no point panicking, now is the time to prepare yourself, your children and your home as much as possible. E.g. have candles, torches, fairy lights, batteries, a way of preparing food and drink if necessary, charge all devices up and have a power bank ready, have games or books for the children, arrange with relatives what to do if they can't get through on the phone. Have important numbers and addresses written down on paper in case you can't look them up online, and some cash in case card machines etc don't work. I suffer from anxiety, but if I plan and prepare (sometimes to the extreme I admit!) I feel much more in control.

I have an autistic child who likes routine and is terrified of the dark. We have planned for the worse case scenario but im not worrying.

We have an internet dongle with 3 so hopefully will still have wifi and we will make sure his tablet and mine are fully charged so he has a backup.

We have 3 power packs which run the kids nightlights, they are 300000ams so we charge them once a week usually but will be keeping them fully charged as they can be used for charging phones and tablets if needed. Their nightlights are from amazon and use the same charging cable as a phone/tablet.

We have put rechargable sensor lights on the stairs so there will be light and no accidental falls in the dark.

I mostly use my slow cooker which means dinner will be cooked at 4 and will stay warm for another hour.

Heating wise we are lucky that we have an open fire so will be warm if we all stay in the lounge. DS likes to be in his bedroom so will make sure he has plenty of blankets up there and warm his microwave teddies.

We also have a camping stove and bbq to cook if needed.

I am old enough to remember the 3 day week and blackouts in the 70s. We had coal fires for heat , candles and torches for light and a gas cooker where my DM cooked our meals and heated stuff for neighbours who had electric cookers .
It wasn’t fun - I was a stroppy teenager at the time ! But we managed .
Try to stock up with candles etc and plenty of books !

You need to get yourself a generator if you are that worried. We used to have one when I was wee, loved rurally and had lots of powercuts. Get one now so you learn what to do.

How do you know what zone you are? I’m sure it’s a silly question but I would like to know

Battery operated lights - rechargable batteries so you can charge them each day in preparation for the next blackout.

Power banks for phones and other devices. These can hold a lot of charge and for a long time.

It would only be 3 hours at a time and half the time will be during daylight (so don't need to worry about being scared of the dark) or when you're asleep.

@Booklover3 your energy bill has a zone reference on it somewhere

You can also et your zone from this website

powercut105.com