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AIBU?

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Original poster

To switch off the power at 10pm tomorrow night

359 replies

Narwhalelife · 09/04/2022 19:58

Just seen this on Instagram.

I’m at the stage anything has to be worth it. Il probably do it, it’s just as I go to bed anyway so why not.

I’m not suggesting it will solve the issue, but might piss a few people off?

Anyone else?

To switch off the power at 10pm tomorrow night
OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
MysteriesOfTheOrganism · 11/04/2022 07:23

Hey - why don't we all burn our homes down?!? That would really show them.

Svara · 11/04/2022 07:55

@Nothappyatwork

I’m still waiting to hear what the oh so intelligent alternative is. come on then genius’s what’s the plan ? If this won’t work what will ?
I'm waiting to hear too. 'Cut usage' works if you are a high or average user but not if you already have low usage.
User843976 · 11/04/2022 07:57

I think it was mainly a twitter thing

cakeorwine · 11/04/2022 08:00

You can see it happened

gridwatch.co.uk/

Look at yesterdays graph to see the sudden dip

To switch off the power at 10pm tomorrow night
bellac11 · 11/04/2022 08:04

@cakeorwine

You can see it happened

gridwatch.co.uk/

Look at yesterdays graph to see the sudden dip

Is there a comparison to other days, what time does consumption usually go down in the evening?
User843976 · 11/04/2022 08:15

We really need to see a few Sunday grid things to compare, one doesn't really mean much

User843976 · 11/04/2022 08:27

Every Sunday from beginning of March would be quite useful as it will incorporate the price rise, just saying.

bluebaul · 11/04/2022 08:28

@Nothappyatwork

I’m still waiting to hear what the oh so intelligent alternative is. come on then genius’s what’s the plan ? If this won’t work what will ?

I have no idea. I don't think this is a situation where you have to play along unless you have an alternative though.

Mollymoostoo · 11/04/2022 09:29

I do this every night with the heating, TV and anything else not needed. Only fridge freezer and WiFi stay on.

LampLighter414 · 11/04/2022 09:38

So guys, did it work?

VanGoghsDog · 11/04/2022 09:59

@LampLighter414

So guys, did it work?
Yes, my supplier has written to me to say utility charges have been halved. Yay!
TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 11/04/2022 10:15

@Nothappyatwork

I’m still waiting to hear what the oh so intelligent alternative is. come on then genius’s what’s the plan ? If this won’t work what will ?
More nuclear power stations would be my guess.
iheartmybeachhut · 11/04/2022 10:34

Halved charges on the strength of a 10 minute switch off really ? Hmm As they say on mn screen shot or it never happened.

SpringsSprung · 11/04/2022 10:36

@Designerly

Wow, I can't believe some of the comments on this one.

a) Your fridge/freezer contents will not melt in 10 minutes if the door is shut.

b) It is not just a pointless social media prank/ joke retweeted by fools, it has been reported seriously by regional (and London) press in advance.

c) The point is for this action to send a message to government, and of course no one will notice if one single person switches off their appliances for 10 minutes, but if millions do, then if will register as a serious concern.

d) It is a genuinely democratic and non partisan expression which expresses concern, without the need to block streets or march on Whitehall.

So with minimal personal inconvenience you can show concern for the hundreds of thousands of households who are about to suffer fuel poverty this year.

To my mind, that doesn't seem so pointless.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Grow up! It's yet another TikTok 'trend' followed by people without much common sense
SpringsSprung · 11/04/2022 10:40

Honestly!!! It's like eating laundry pods and saying "It sends a message to Bold" whilst vomiting your guts up! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Disclaimer: DO NOT EAT LAUNDRY PODS!!

LemonJuiceFromConcentrate · 11/04/2022 10:52

@Nothappyatwork

I’m still waiting to hear what the oh so intelligent alternative is. come on then genius’s what’s the plan ? If this won’t work what will ?
Nobody owes you an intelligent alternative as someone sort of ‘swap’ for criticising this plan. It’s fine for anybody to point out the flaws in a stupid idea without instantly supplying a different idea to replace it.

If you want to initiate action that stands a better chance of making a difference, you might have to (gasp) come up with it yourself. And I would imagine it’ll take a hell of a lot more time, energy and effort than it took to get swept along in last night’s half-baked effort.

Making a difference is hard work. Collective action has to be underpinned by a proper understanding of what’s happening, if it’s going to have real value. Many people jumping on the 10-minute switch off very evidently didn’t have the faintest clue about what would/would not realistically happen as a result.

DrWhoNowww · 11/04/2022 11:09

@LampLighter414

So guys, did it work?
No, demand dipped by about a GW so some people definitely did it.

But we then sent a lot of that surplus energy down the interconnectors to France where we’ll have sold it for more than we could in U.K.

So actually…did the energy companies a favour Grin…

LemonJuiceFromConcentrate · 11/04/2022 11:24

I honestly believe that, far from being “a start” and motivating people to move on to more effective action, stunts like this are more likely to end in further disempowerment of those who take part. That’s why they piss me off. It is not about sneering at the gullible.

First because misguided/bad faith social media “protests” take genuine motivation and divert it into something completely pointless, wasting the potential of that initial willingness to protest.

And second because quite a lot of people end up thinking “Well, I tried. I did what I could and it didn’t make a difference,” wrongly imagining that there was ever a chance of a suspiciously easy social-media-driven quick action making a difference. And that lowers the chances that they’ll remain motivated enough to do something more effective (which would almost certainly also be more difficult and complicated).

Obviously I hope I am wrong, though, and that the people on this thread who participated will in fact move on to a better informed level of activism. But y’know. There are reasons why most people don’t do that, including that it’s fucking challenging and most of the worst affected people already lead busy, exhausting lives.

Original poster
Narwhalelife · 11/04/2022 14:14

I am curious though, through what means do people think such action should be communicated?

I’m being serious, this issue aside, for those who sneered at this, are you happy with the state of the country at the moment?

And if you are not, what would it take for you to say enough is enough?

Genuinely curious.

Also if the BBC news had suggested it (🙄) or Boris had said it was the only way to bring down prices (🙄🙄) would more have you taken part?

OP posts:
VanGoghsDog · 11/04/2022 14:27

@iheartmybeachhut

Halved charges on the strength of a 10 minute switch off really ? Hmm As they say on mn screen shot or it never happened.
Obviously you missed the sarcasm.
muimerp · 11/04/2022 14:32

Also if the BBC news had suggested it (🙄) or Boris had said it was the only way to bring down prices (🙄🙄) would more have you taken part?

No, and they didn't suggest it because it makes no sense.

I would happily take part in something that is likely to promote some kind of action. This wasn't. It makes no difference who suggests something like this, applying some critical thinking as to the outcome is the only way for people to make a decision regarding taking part.

User843976 · 11/04/2022 14:33

I wouldn't have taken part if it had been on the news or Boris had said so like I didn't take part in the clapping. People didn't really seem to understand that stuff like that can also put bills up so is counter productive

User843976 · 11/04/2022 14:37

There was a graph posted earlier which shows a dip but it was a bit pointless as there were no comparable graphs from other times so no control samples, so meaningless.

Designerly · 11/04/2022 16:38

@SpringsSprung
Maybe you came to it via TikTok (I wouldn't know, I dont use it) but I can assure you it is bigger than that. By the way haven't you realised that TikTok is a medium, you might as well have said 'it is just a Newspaper trend' or ' it is just a telephone trend'. And please don't adopt a supercilious attitude with your 'grow up' comment - maybe you have a cynical view of life and other peoples efforts, but I remain optimistic that change can be made by collective actions.

LemonJuiceFromConcentrate · 11/04/2022 17:00

It isn’t the fact that it was shared on social media op, it’s the fact that there was nothing to it of substance so it was essentially just social media noise.

The thing it was asking people to do was so easy that it was sort of nothing-y, yet it was framed as an empowerment narrative. I mean if it was that simple to make energy providers bend to the will of the people, someone would have tried it before now.

It was a poorly conceived idea for a protest and social media amplified it.

That isn’t to say nothing shared on social media is ever worthwhile.