Households are warned to prepare for BLACKOUTS by keeping torches and warm clothes nearby as energy firms battle to keep the lights on during coronavirus crisis

[SerendipityJane]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8170895/Britons-told-prepare-blackouts-keeping-torches-warm-clothes-nearby-coronavirus-crisis.html

Britons have been warned of the potential for blackouts amid growing fears that staff shortages could lead to issues with the country's power network.

Fears are growing that high levels of staff sickness during the coronavirus outbreak, mixed with the government's self-isolation rules, could lead to a shortage of engineers.

The National Grid insists that the network is able to cope.

But one electrical infrastructure firm has now written to some of its most vulnerable customers warning them to keep torches and warm clothes nearby in case of power cuts.

UK Power Networks, which owns and maintains the electricity cables in the South East and East of England, as well as London, has written to priority customers, including pensioners and those with young children, telling them what to do if their homes are hit with a power cut.

The advice, reported in The Daily Telegraph today, includes 'keeping a torch handy' and 'reducing heat loss by closing doors on unused rooms'.

Customers are also advised to have a 'hat, gloves and a blanket to hand to keep warm' and, where possible, to keep a corded telephone in the house, as well as a power bank to recharge mobile phones.

The advice comes as many electricity firms across the UK put non-essential infrastructure work on hold.

Companies have also implemented emergency strategies to deal with the knock-on effects of Covid-19, which has infected more than 20,000 people in the UK.

So far, 1,408 people have died as a result of the virus.

Other electricity distributors across the UK are also reportedly contacting the most vulnerable.

The energy firms are also ensuring staff can continue to work on essential projects while still abiding by the government's social distancing rules.

However a boss of one firm, SP Energy Networks, which operates in parts of Scotland, the North West and North Wales, said that staff sickness was a particular concern.

Concern was also raised about the length of time that the government's social distancing guidance could be in place for.

(also www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/30/keep-torch-handy-case-power-cuts-coronavirus-lockdown-households/)

you forget the generators to keep your fridge/freezer working - you do have those haven't you?

I would if I could afford one, but I’ll make do with my gas cooker and barbecues, not to mention my dried, jarred and canned goods.

I agree @AintNobodyHereButUsKittens.
But then why would an electric company send letters to vulnerable people warning them about the risk if there is risk of outage??

Either that company is over the top and proteting itself and is pancking everyone in the process.
OR
They actually are already so close to outage that they could easily fall into issue due to the shortage of workers.

I'm more concerned about the house alarm whenever we get a power cut or trip a fuse.

Can't turn it off till power returns and our neighbour ALWAYS complains about it (as if we weren't aware it's loud). We rent so can't do anything about it.

It's highly unlikely we'll get blackouts as there's lots of systems in place to prevent it, and trust me, the energy industry is working to ensure these things don't happen.

But it's common sense to have torches handy anyway (goes to check mine).

Energy demand will have dropped considerably due to lockdown as the big industrial users have substantially reduced usage. It will fall further over the coming months as the weather warms up and the days get longer.

I live in the sticks with overhead power cables. The slightest breeze and the power goes out here, I have torches everywhere!

Might explain the power cut my area had yesterday

I don't believe one word in the Daily Mail normally. However, we've had several power cuts in the last week, so much so that I have been lighting candles and keeping torches handy in the evenings. It's not a normal occurrence here (unless v. bad weather).

The main problem will be the floods caused by everyone’s freezers defrosting simultaneously (you can probably tell I am old enough to have lived through the three day week).

Any problems won't be with the power stations, it will be a potential shortage of engineers to fix local power cuts, but UKPN website is useful for when these happen.

If we lose WIFI, the UK is even more fucked. Heat and light don't matter much at this time of year.

We had a power cut last night. My phone wasn’t charged and we didn’t have enough torches...lessons learned as we live rurally and should have known better. The worst bit was is was 8pm and we had no booze to while away the hours in darkness. Another lesson learned! Our house alarm went off and we managed to disconnect from the mains, but not the battery attached to the outside which kept it running (as it was dark, we had to let that run it’s course). biggest worry was that the Dog was freaked out at all the beeping and just wanted to go to bed.

We do have a generator, but have yet to find out the fuel it uses...another sharp lesson in rural living!! It’s very high on the to-do
List now!!

Three people on this thread have suggested The Army would step in.
How would that work, in reality? Do they know how to operate power stations?

I would have thought the Navy more suitable.

I remember a week or so ago a poster on here saying there was no chance we would go into lockdown !

Again. Power stations are fine and equipped for this.

It's local transformers and having enough engineers to fix local problems that could potentially cause an issue. But steps are already being taken to ensure this doesn't happen.

I remember a week or so ago a poster on here saying there was no chance we would go into lockdown

to be fair, we are still not in lockdown, we might not need to go - one can dream I suppose.

I remember a week or so ago a poster on here saying there was no chance we would go into lockdown

Not to mention all the ill just order my groceries online. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Meh. We have power cuts most days somewhere in the village. Nothing ever gets done about it, we're used to it.

It's standard bullshit from the fail.
I work for one of the Energy companies

It's April tomorrow anyone expecting a deep freeze?

Average temperatures in the UK in April are 12 daytime dropping to 4 at night.

Not exactly balmy weather. It always snows at some point in April somewhere in the U.K., and if we get high winds, temperatures drop.

It's April tomorrow anyone expecting a deep freeze?

It was snowing here in the south east on Sunday.....

To be honest, security of energy supply is an issue. So I can see why something like coronavirus means that there’s an increased risk of power cuts.

People should be prepared for power cuts in any event IMO.

They don’t happen often but when they do it can be a pain. We had one November no electricity for a few days, two young DC a luckily we had friends and family we could call on. Otherwise it would have been horrific.

Now I always make sure we have torches with batteries. We also have a wood burning stove so can have heat, plus camping stoves if we got desperate. Sounds extreme but it’s minimal effort (except installing a stove!!)

Not to mention all the ill just order my groceries online.

I’d forgotten about that! Seems like a lifetime ago...

I don't read the DM but we have had three power cuts in the last 3 weeks and none in the last year. Rural south east.