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Original poster

Will my electricity turn off on March 29

26 replies

panicattackkkk · 19/01/2019 10:35

Hello everyone, my electricity is provided by EDF Energy, headquartered in London.

However the company is wholly owned by the French state owned EDF (Électricité de France).

I've just spent quite a long time on wikipedia feeling like an idiot trying to work out if I will need to be worried about my electricity working in the case of a No Deal

Can anyone reassure or educate me? Ideally I would prefer no responses from Leave Voters telling me I have an anxiety disorder

OP posts:
Stinkytoe · 19/01/2019 10:39

You’re electricity won’t turn off, certainly not at one minute past midnight on 29/03.

We aren’t entering into a state of war with the EU, we just need to figure out how to operate without being part of it. EDF won’t want to harm their business

ElyElyOy · 19/01/2019 10:57

No you wont. National Grid will still distribute the electricity supply. Even if suppliers (like EDF) went out of business their customers are protected and another supplier takes over. It happened recently when a smaller supplier went in o administration; their customers were transferred to someone else (supply wouldn’t be at risk, it’s the billing side of it that’s different)

squee123 · 19/01/2019 11:05

confusingly it isn't actually your supplier that supplies your electricity to your house. That is done by National Grid. Your supplier bills you for your electricity use and supplies electricity to the grid generally. If your supplier goes out of business the grid still supplies you with electricity and as said above another supplier will take over billing you.

I don't think Brexit will have any impact on electricity supply personally.

I think when people on here talk about prepping for power cuts they are thinking more about bad weather or cyber attacks on power stations than Brexit.

DoodleLab · 19/01/2019 11:07

Your electricity won't necessarily turn off. EDF is merely the retailer to you the customer, all the power companies buy exactly the same electrons coming along the powerlines from the wholesalers.

However, for people in NI there is a serious concern, as there is an all-Ireland grid and the cross border powerlines could be cut in the event of no-deal. So much so, that it's been mooted in the press to have barges with generators on in the Irish sea to keep the lights on Shock.

Also, the GB grid shares interconnector cables with France and the Netherlands, which provide a small but significant amount of electricity during our peak times (& viceversa). If they're shut off, then it's possible there will be a shortfall. In which case, it would be wise to plan for electricity rationing, either voluntary appeals to moderate use, or rolling planned blackouts like the 1970's, so you have advance warning that in your area, the power will be off from say 8 pm to 9 pm. Just my humble surmise. Journos fuck off.

Original poster
panicattackkkk · 19/01/2019 11:20

thank you so much for these really knowledgeable replies

I feel so, so bad for Northern Ireland in all this (and the Irish too)

OP posts:
AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 19/01/2019 12:32

Journos fuck off

If you did want to prep for lack of electricity - and as an unlikely worst case scenario I can't see more than rolling black outs - then you could consider

  • power banks, for anything usb rechargeable (you probably already have one for your phone)
  • lighting eg USB rechargeable head torch, wind up torch, candles
  • thermos flask so you can still have hot drinks
  • if you don't have a gas hob, some foods which can be eaten without cooking
londonloves · 19/01/2019 12:58

This might be a stupid question but can we expect price increases from EDF and other EU power companies in the event of no deal, will WTO tariffs apply?

Boyskeepswinging · 19/01/2019 13:01

Does anyone remember the Millennium Bug? Just sayin' ...

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 19/01/2019 13:02

Not sure to be honest, but I needed to switch anyway and chose a fixed deal just in case; I think price rises are much more likely than price falls.

Oblomov19 · 19/01/2019 13:03

Seriously? Why are you worried? Do you have anxiety?

londonloves · 19/01/2019 13:07

Why do you care f other people are worried? Do you have anxiety?

bellinisurge · 19/01/2019 13:11

I call Bingo on the millennium bug mention!
Op. Unless you are in NI, power supply problems are unlikely. I'm a prepper.

DoodleLab · 19/01/2019 13:14

Millennium bug!! I'm calling full house! The only reason crisis was averted with the MB was because tens of thousands of whizz kids worked flat out overtime for £££ for months & years leading up to 31/12/99 to find all those lines of errant code.

January 2019 and we're basically at quarter to midnight and the square root of fuck all contingency planning has been done to ensure a smooth seamless transition to other trading deals and maintain a frictionless supply of incoming goods. Not the same thing by a million miles Hmm

Boyskeepswinging · 19/01/2019 13:19

The only reason crisis was averted with the MB was because tens of thousands of whizz kids worked flat out overtime for £££ for months & years leading up to 31/12/99 to find all those lines of errant code.
No, they really didn't. The whole thing was a wind up, just as is Project Fear.

londonloves · 19/01/2019 13:23

Sorry but actually they did - I know people who worked in MB to ensure till systems of major retailers didn't go down. So shut up. Why do you care if other people are worried, seriously? Just leave us weirdos alone to talk about it and go off and be smug somewhere else.

ShirtyFlirty · 19/01/2019 13:27

I would guess the most likely chance of a power cut around the time of Brexit would be due to a ransom cyber attack.

If it would ease your anxiety you can buy a small solar charger that will power your mobile and a bulb, or a solar powered radio/torch?to cover you until power is restored.

Boyskeepswinging · 19/01/2019 13:30

OK, so some people did this work, but absolutely loads of companies did not and it made not one jot of difference. Why is it smug to believe that we will not be aware of any difference in our electricity supply come the end of March? I just see huge parallels between MB and Project Fear (as do lots of people, I'm hardly a lone voice here). I'll leave you to your paranoia, then. Enjoy!

Peridot1 · 19/01/2019 13:38

Some info on the Millenium Bug here.

Seems to me like lots of work was done to ensure it wasn’t a major issue? Worldwide.

ShirtyFlirty · 19/01/2019 13:39

I don't recall anyone stockpiling for the MB. The only comment anyone I knew at the time made was that they didn't plan to travel by plane that day.

Peridot1 · 19/01/2019 13:41

People didn’t need to stockpile as food supply wasn’t the issue.

ShirtyFlirty · 19/01/2019 13:44

I am not convinced stockpiling was a thing in December 1999, I don't recall drug shortages like we are seeing now.

Stockpiling is a thing amongst some people in 2019.

londonloves · 19/01/2019 13:52

Isn't the millennium bug comparison about people "making a massive fuss over something which didn't happen", rather than stockpiling?
Anyway, blah. I've got a torch and spare batteries and candles and I don't care if people think I'm mental.
Anyone have a view on mains gas supplies?

InAPreviousLife · 19/01/2019 13:59

I work for one of the big 6. Our company has been putting out articles regularly for a few months now to confirm that Brexit will not affect day to day operations at all.

Probably because a lot of hard work behind the scenes but whilst they are pro-remain as a company they have planned for the worst case scenario.

Also This might be a stupid question but can we expect price increases from EDF and other EU power companies in the event of no deal, will WTO tariffs apply?

This isn't exclusively an EU based company issue because all the suppliers buy their gas from the same groups of people. Some companies favour the high cost security option bulk buying in massive long term contracts to ensure supply. Others (normally smaller therefore cheaper companies) buy on short term and cheaper contracts. These companies fold quickly at supply change points because they haven't paid a premium for extra security to ride it out.

There won't be an immediate price rise from the big six because all of them will have those long term price deals in place but when they have the numbers to crunch a post Brexit tariff they'll move then, probably just in time for winter this year claiming they held off for as long as possible.

InAPreviousLife · 19/01/2019 14:04

Anyone have a view on mains gas supplies?

Europe only makes up a portion of our gas supplies. An awful lot is shipped in as LPG to refineries like the one in Milford Haven from all over the world. The biggest European based risk, as always is Putin and his gas pipes that supply huge parts of Europe. We do still have reserves in the North Sea, although it is a dwindling asset.

InAPreviousLife · 19/01/2019 14:06

One last thought from me...there's a large number of mothballed and reserve power stations that are coal fired. We don't like to turn them on because they pollute more than gas fired stations but it is a contingency measure that a fair few producers can initiate if required.