3 Hour Blackouts

[pyjamafashionista]

If they happen, they are saying they'll be planned between 4-7pm. Surely this is the most ridiculous time, when most people will still be at work/ travelling home/making tea etc.
Any genius thoughts to get through a 3 hour blackout besides blankets and 🕯
I feel really sad for vulnerable people on their own if it happens 😪

What about people who live in tower blocks and need a lift to their front door.

What about traffic lights and public transport.

And do you realise that a lot of people wfh? I wfh for an American company so I’m needed a lot in the evenings due to time zone differences. This would absolutely fuck my job.

Me too. We've got a couple of UPS for my computer and the router (if the broadband itself still works). But having lived in the US... they'll probably be used to completely random power cuts, they seem to have a lot more than we do here. So they may be more understanding than you might expect. (Offices usually have big UPS).

how would this work for stores? Like grocery stores who are open till 11? i mean can generator keep a store running for multiple hours?

How can people drive home if no traffic lights?

Quite easily. You apply the rules of the highway code & drive carefully, same as you would if they were broken during the day

I thought schools, hospitals, street lights etc would be exempt? Surely homes only?

Are the people who are saying this wont happen the same people who were saying we wouldn't lock down for covid? Stores wont lose their frozen stock. In the 70's I remember going around Sainsburys in candle light, though I expect they wont be able to do that now. Traffic lights will go off and we will drive through them just as we would do if they were broken. Not saying blackouts will definitely happen, but I can see no reason why they wont and it wont just be in the UK either.

Would it be the same times every week? Will businesses lose power too?

I’m in S which would have no power 12:30-3:30 and 6:30-9:30pm on Saturdays, plus 6:30-9:30pm Sundays. Happy weekend…

Oh dear I hope they don't happen I wfh and will definitely lose wages if I can't work. Can deal with cold/no food for a bit/not seeing. Can't deal with less income !

Hospitals are exempt. There is a list of the exemptions on the document stated further up.

Imagine - supermarkets losing their entire fridge and freezer stock every night.

Imagine it if you want; in reality they won't.

Bottles will be just fine with cooled boiled water. Sealed and kept in the fridge. When the fridge goes off it will still be fine for a couple of hours. Make the water up before the black out and leave it to cool. Tip powder in and shake. Did it for all of my 3 from 3 weeks old.
Food will have to be cold if you don’t have a camping stove or gas hob. Sandwich cold pizza or cold pasta salad.
Hot water bottles, fleece blanket and thick oodies or similar.
Buy some solar lights or good camping lights.
Its crap but it’s only 3 hours.

Really can’t compare our reliance on electricity in 2022 to that of 1979 I’m afraid. Totally different world.

"Get ready how though? We are currently using oil filled heaters to keep costs down to not have heating on. They won't be able to be used. Bottles should be thrown after an hour. According to nhs website. DH works from home so does he just not get paid for those hours he can't work? What food keeps warm for three hours with no electricity? I just don't get it.
It's a fucking shit show. I had my first bay at the height of covid where everyone told me we were all going to die. Now my second baby has to to survive another chuffing crisis and be brought up in some Dickensian era."

"Yep, it's a fantasy world. My kids would be alone in the dark for 2 hours until I get home from work. Great"

Snowflakes! Sorry but it has to be said. A 3 hour blackout is easily planned for, just be generally prepared with a torch, candles etc. Make up baby bottles from water kept in a flask. It's only a few hours.

I experienced the blackouts of the 1970s (I'm in my late 60s now). Our house was often cold to begin with as we often did not have the money for coal. It was normal when I was a kid to toast bread over an open fire as we didn't always have enough money to top the leccy meter up. Ice regularly formed on the inside of the windows etc etc.
It won't kill us if we can't watch telly for a few hours these days. Just get over it.

i have a family member on a kidney dialysis machine that runs for 8 hrs every evening, what would they do?

If this happens -
We have been told in advance of when to expect so it means we can plan.
So keep things charged, have power banks. Don't open the fridge/freezer during a blackout - in advance maybe take out what you need and store in cool bag before you can safely return to fridge.
Freezer is ok for 48h and fridge about 4h, many have temperature settings do you can see any drop.

What I would do:
See times of blackout and any evening that incurs that session do dialysis before/after that time or arrange to visit another zone at that time (if feasible - sorry don't know how portable machine is ) Ask their hospital for guidance - they would have to be giving this to all patients so probably best placed.
I wouldn't panic. There are lots of news articles which I think aim that. I'm optimistic this either won't happen or it will be low level.

I was living in SF during the rolling blackouts in California in 2000/2001. In retrospect it is hard to understand how what was at that time, mid dot com boom, one of the richest economies in the world could have had blackouts but it did and we just planned for them.
it was relatively easily for DH and I at the time as a young couple with no children to
cope but I am sure it was harder for more vulnerable people.
I don’t remember if we got sent home from work but I do remember having by hairdresser cancel and being very warm with no fans or air con.

To those worried about formula feeding- don’t make up water and put in the fridge and add powder- the powder should always be adding to very hot water to kill the bacteria- just make up the bottles with the powder and the water, cool them rapidly with the tap and stick in the fridge made up, then use a thermos flask to store boiled water to heat the bottle when needed. That’s the way it was done for years before they changed the rules, it’s highly unlikely it would harm your baby- much less so than adding powder to cold boiled water.

Same for me, according to the postcode checker I am in a ‘V’ area, but ‘V’ isn’t on any of the blackout charts.

in the world of hurricanes and power cuts
this is general but you will so alot of things to help
crisisequipped.com/how-to-prepare-for-a-power-outage/

Buy her a head torch and some rechargeable batteries, and get her used to using them now. It will be better than nothing.

My solution to having hot food, is to leave it in a slow cooker in the morning, covered in towels. It should be cooked by the time the power goes off at 3pm, and kept hot by the insulation. Or reheating food on a log burner works well too.

Link to a previous thread with where to find the code.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4660517-the-existing-plan-for-rolling-blackouts?reply=120924617

Hospitals are exempt but the rest don't matter. Have you never lived anywhere that has power cuts? Most people adapt within 24hrs.

Supermarkets lay thermal blankets over their fridges, keep the freezer doors closed and food is fine. That's why planned blackouts are relatively short. They adjust their opening hours, can't sell without electronic tills.

We'll switch to the slow cooker, a rechargeable lantern and tea lights, log burner or blanket for warmth, feet up and and read books.

For most, it really is no bother.

I’m imagining the “it won’t happen” posters sitting in the dark, unprepared for the cuts without power banks or torches or thermoses, still point-blank denying and firmly shouting “It won’t happen!”

Seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of WHY it might happen. Electricity isn’t conjured from nowhere; saying “it won’t happen because people need electricity” is mind-boggling.

You can get chargeable light bulbs now which you just put in the normal light socket and will give you light for 5 hrs or so if the power goes off. Get one for lounge, kitchen and landing. Keep spare batteries and camping lantern in easy to access place.

we have a camping stove and gas we can use. Some phone charge banks. You don’t need much for 3hr blackouts, just be prepared and know where everything is.