How to prepare for blackouts

[Erica56]

I’ve read on the news today that we should be preparing for blackouts between 4-7pm in January / February. How is everyone preparing?

I don’t really get that it will save much energy?

eg
washjng machine and dishwasher - will still go on just at a different time

showers - we have them in the mornings generally anyway

cooking - we will either cook earlier and reheat on gas hob or cook later

charging devices - this will be done earlier or over night

lights - these don’t use a huge amount of power

TV and computers are probably the only things that may cut down usage of but kids will probably download stuff to (pre-charged) tablets and watch that way

so in reality our usage won’t change much and surely everyone else will also be using all the energy pre and post black out too!

also how will people manage now that so many people work from home? Some people no longer have offices to go to. Or work evenings etc.

will street lights etc still work as 4-7 is peak kids walking home/to&from activities etc and dark streets are a safety concern.

what about emergencies? Most phones now rely on power so if no mobile signal/mobile battery dies and house phone not working will there be a surge in deaths from increased emergency response times? Eg I’m have to go miles to find a phone box!

will crime increase with lack of lighting and alarms?

also lots of alarms start shrieking the minute there is a power cut - will we have to spend 3 hours listening to local alarms?

Huh.

What's this about?

Purposely turning off the countries electric for hours every day?

Surely not?

@HeadacheEarthquake

I think it’s unlikely but battery lights and a battery pack for your laptop... there must be similar for an electric piano?? If there were power cuts then I’d be delighted with a piano lesson to pass the time, and it feeds the Victorian vibe, that’s for sure

Gas hob and gas fire here so am very lucky.

They won't be having a blackout at 5 pm! More likely to be 10 till midnight with a week's notice.

But that relies on her students also having electrical back up to cope as well.

So at the time most producers can’t give away energy for discounted prices?

Any blackouts will be around peak times to aid in load shedding and, well, saving energy. The blackouts naturally won’t be needed if it’s during a time when no one is using energy. So the plans are for rolling three hour blocks in different grid areas during the day and early evening when energy usage is high.

Use a slow cooker to cook all day, it’ll still be warm for an hour or heat the food in microwave after PC

battery lights with AAA batteries, got on amazon a packet of 8

blankets, sloppy fleece to keep warm

card games of uno for entertainment

@PlantDoctor @luredbyapomegranate @unexpected

Defo a good way to pass the time, I will look into the generator thing I imagine it's costly, I wish I still had my upright but we changed to respect the neighbors and make it portable for gigs.

Candlelit piano lessons sound very romantic but I can't imagine anyone being in the mood for it if we are forced to, my students especially

I do hope they're overnight and rotated regionally

Luredbyapomegranate How can anyone teach online lessons when there is a power cut?

Silly question but I'm assuming the WiFi is down also in this scenario

Silly question but I'm assuming the WiFi is down also in this scenario

wifi will not work during power cut

It was a silly question I know (I currently have concussion)

Surely all people working from home/online in real time are fearing this and genuinely hoping its just scaremongering

We have torches, wine and chocolate. That will get us through anything.

I work hybrid but if home electricity goes out so does my workplace. It is not a big office building, just a very small building. I don't care if I can't work.

It won't happen

Not a silly question. Yes, it is scaremongering and clickbait. This would be a genuinely terrifying scenario for so many- not an evening that could be made Hygge-esque with a few tealights on the go.
It makes me so mad that these threads have to be started. We should be pushing back on the media to provide proof of source and evidence to support this ‘story’. Shameful scaremongering.

@HeadacheEarthquake depends on the exchange ours didn't go off as can use a power pack

You could hotspot to mobile data to create a connection I think?

They generally have a cited source. This FT article from today quotes the boss of the National Grid: www.ft.com/content/d31fbbd6-8325-43b7-94e4-29101cfe6045

Although I should add that he does say it is unlikely to happen. It all depends on global events and climates!

Assuming the local cell towers have connectivity. Which they likely won’t given the blackout I had the last month knocked out everything. This despite those towers supposedly having battery backup for several hours in an emergency, I got zero signal.

Make sure my sons emergency o2 cylinder is full.
Buy torches. I have toddlers. No candles!!

Ouch, that's terrible. I do think in a planned blackout connectivity would be maintained though, for safety if nothing else.

I'm guessing businesses will be excluded? But that's helpful given i WFH... and need WiFi!

I've got a camping lantern that's also a power bank, it was bought for power cuts so I'll keep that charged