Power cuts in rural Scotland

[Corporatepreggolady]

Hello! We're staying on the isle of mull and following Storm Amy, had a power cut that lasted three days. It's a cottage with electric heating and boiler so this left us without heat, hot water or any ability to cook as well as the lights being out. I grew up in a house that would have regular power cuts but we had gas heating and hot water, and never went out for this long, so this level of being off grid seems mad to me. It impacted many others locally. Being on an island in poor weather and very far from home, we couldn't simply leave.

It all just got me wondering how usual this is, and whether remote island communities get a fair deal with electricity. If this was say, Cambridge, without power for days, it would be national news. People seem to get on with it here but it is exceptionally difficult to live in a normal way

This is why it's important to keep open fires or wood burners, especially if you're in a more remote area which is more susceptible to extreme weather. It's a source of light, heat, hot water and cooking which doesn't rely on the grid.

I would never have a house without one for this reason!

We had a power cut lasting 4 days last winter. We're in Scotland but not rural or island so it can happen. We claimed back for food and accommodation from the energy company and received several hundred pounds. I'm not sure if you'd be able to since it's not your home address but worth a try? For us it was mid winter and below zero so we couldn't stay in the house with no way to keep warm.

Not in any way a remote island community, but the electricity supply to the village we live in used to be notoriously fragile. Every time high winds were forecast I had to make sure our extensive collection of oil lamps were topped up. We later got a back-up generator and cook on LPG anyway so the impact was minimal, apart from the noise and cost of the fuel.

The supply has been upgraded so, although we get fairly frequent power cuts, we had one last week, they don’t last very long. Some only seconds.

I'd say remote island communities get a fair deal with electricity, in that the price they pay for it bears no relation to the actual cost of supplying it.

Scottish Island resident here! The west coast is the wettest, windiest place in the UK statistically so many people do have a Rayburn or Aga plus a very healthy larder. Unfortunately I don’t I’m all electric I do however keep a portable gas fire in my garage so at least we can keep one room warm if the worst happens plus we have a camping stove. It can be so localised too as Amy didn’t knock out our power but a couple of other villages did lose it, local halls if on can be great at making huge pots of soup and keeping a warm room. Community spirit can really come to the fore, luckily the last time I was off 3 days was 2013 but for those wondering why you can’t just ‘pack up and go’ high winds usually mean ferry cancellations and when they do run again it’s a battle to get your car booked on with the backlog created.
Island life can be amazing but not for the faint hearted!

Well 50x the amount of people live in Cambridge as on the Isle of Mull.

It's a remote area. problems with the services go pretty much with the territory.

Yes it does impact people locally, but they develop ways to deal with it. Self reliance can be bought for a price, and that price is normally cheaper than installing back up contingency for small numbers of people.

Interesting. We had a log burner but it's still very hard to boil water etc. Cambridge was probably a bad comparison but I just mean if you add up all the Highlanders and islanders who were without power for days, it's significant and I find it interesting as others have said that it's a more accepted and accommodated for

Used to live on an island, but now rural highlands, had more frequent power cuts on the mainland normally a couple a year, several days, basically our stove is lpg so can cook, have jackery to charge electronics, wood stove for alternative heat and lots of solar lights. Was watching the power cut map during the storm the other day, and it was crazy how much of the Scotland map was red.

The sheer length of cabling to supply these islands and therefore fix is multiples of a more urban area. The cost that would be needed to prevent or reduce these cuts would be astronomical.

We live in on the West Coast of Scotland in an exposed spot. Power cuts happen quite regularly. Last January we had no power for three days after having 100MPH winds. Power cuts are common and to be expected in winter. Most last for no more than a few hours.

It's important to be prepared. You need to have a generator and to know how to start it and maintain it. We also have a camping stove and easy to heat foodstuffs. The other must have are rechargeable lanterns and power banks. Friends and neighbours are amazing for offering help so it doesn't seem that bad.

Yes, we live in rural Scotland and have frequent power cuts. Usually less than 24 hours but after storm Arwen we had 5 or 6 days (I don't actually know as I was in hospital over an hour away with a newborn!)

Locally everyone has a wood stove and most/all have a camping stove for cooking on. Our wood burner has facility for it too. People help each other out a lot and will drop meals/thermos's off for vulnerable people.

The big recent change that is of huge concern for us is the decommissioning of landlines to fibre. Our mobile phone signal often is affected - and so in the case of this recent power cut (for more than 24 hours, with mobile masts being down, and internet not working because of no electricity) in case of an emergency you would have had to drive over 30 minutes to even be able to phone for help.

@Pleasehelpmedress
you need to push for the mobile system to be protected against power cuts the same way the fixed copper line network is today - that only works because there are generators attached to the phone network - you need batteries and generators and a level of duplicate coverage ( that’s where mast sharing is bad ) for the mobile network . It’s done in some places already but shout to Ofcom

The other thing to be aware of is that a huge number of islanders in the Western Isles (and I think all of Shetland and Orkney?) are off the gas grid (hence electric heating). So electricity being down has more of an impact than if you have a gas connection, which at least means you have heating and hot water!

I am afraid most hot water and heating boilers don't work without electricity whatever the primary fuel. This definitely applies to oil and LPG which are the most common fuels in rural areas.

Yes, I should've mentioned the lack of phone signal. We also had to drive about 10 miles to find signal -- so you're without power and without information. Our Airbnb had none of the things mentioned (e.g, back up stove) so although we had our own head torches and candles we didn't feel very well equipped for so many days off the grid. Many people mentioning community support too, which seems another vital point - again, possibly we found it trickier because we didn't have a community or any info. Our host was of the island and provided zero support or help. We found out ourselves about the SSEN provision of hot meals

Yes its different if you are on holiday. Sorry you had such a hard time.

Are you aware how much electricity is actually generated in remote/island locations and how our average rates are some of the highest in the UK? With no mains gas available then electricity or oil is the only option if you're not keen on stinky polluting fires!
@Corporatepreggolady thank you for highlighting one of the problems faced by remote communities and hope you're still enjoying the holiday.

We live on a farm in semi rural Scotland. We get frequent power cuts, some small that it just switches off then on again, some last up to 24 hours. We usually have at least one longer one a year in wilder weather. We get used to it. We're not on the mains gas but our heating relies on electricity so we can't use that. We do now have a small bioethanol fire but we didn't for the last 13 years. You get used to it. The biggest issue is food in the freezer especially if you are like many people who live rurally and have it stocked with batch cooked meals. Or if you were just about to cook dinner and its something that goes in the "electric" oven. We do have gas hobs though so that helps to boil water and cook on.
Apart from the inconvenience, especially if you are working from home, we don't mind it at times. We get off our phones and sit in one (warm) room and play board games or chat by candlelight.

Yes, the situation is changing now that renewable energy is taking off. In the past, however, the cost of maintaining connections, relative to the population, was astronomical. I'm also aware that prices are somewhat higher, but that applies everywhere in Scotland, even densely populated areas near nuclear power stations.

I have family on Mull and they always have a back up because there's no mains gas on the island. Things such as having a camping stove, a coal fire (they had a peat fire when we first started going up 30 years ago). Gas bottles are also kept full in their caravan and for their kitchen.

Im not in the uk but storm Amy left us without power for 38 hours and not mobile coverage for 25 hours. The power is still a bit unreliable - its been off 4 times for about 90 mins total today. We're rural. I think it goes with the teritory.

There's only one nuclear power station in Scotland (Torness), and that's due to close shortly.

I forgot Hunterston had shut down. My point is, Scotland has always had some of the highest energy prices in the UK, despite that fact that around 80% of Scots live within the Central Belt. It's not that those who live in the Highlands and Islands are being penalised.

Probably easier and cheaper to get something like Starlink or other satellite internet rather than bring fibre to remote locations, but even if you put in the emergency call I guess there is a chance no one would be able to get to you anyway.

I went to the Highlands for my summer holiday this year. I went on a bus tour. The tour guide was telling the group about peat cutting and that you have to have permission to do it these days. I can understand the environmental impact of cutting peat, but on tne other hand it used to be a ready energy source in the Highlands.

I know about the power cuts too. Many houses have other means to keep the lights on when it happens. As a Southern Englander I've got no experience in lighting a fire or cooking over an open flame (I don't even have a gas connection) because I've never had to. As for communication, I'd be lost without a phone signal. So kudos to those who live through this often.