Are you all prepping for power cuts?

[User112]

BBC reported the other day about possible power cuts this winter due to gas shortage. Other than having a few torch light and candles, are you all prepping with anything else?

Rota for anyone who wants it. I’m zone E. you can find out your zone on powercut105.com

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/995049/esec-guidance.pdf

Hi thank you very much for posting this, but where do you find your zone on powercut105 please ? I can only find my supplier.

Found it , and for anyone else trying to find it , apparently the letter that tells you which load block or zone you are in is next to your name and address on your bill or statement from your electricity supplier.

Today I figured out I could boil water safely indoors with chafing gel.

if power cuts are planned, then I’ll fill hot water bottles and flasks in advance, but if there’s unscheduled blackouts, I will at least be able to make warm drinks. I plan on buying some cuppa soups and pot noodle type meals too.

I have brought my solar lights in from the garden for the winter, and as we’re south facing I’ve put them on the windowsills, I’m hoping they’ll be charged enough to use in a power cut, but I have led candles just in case.

My kids already have rechargeable night lights that can be used as torches if needed and I’ve already got lantern type torches hanging up on the landing and downstairs hallway as we often get unplanned power cuts in winter due to being semi rural.

Die to previous power cuts, I also have a stash of hand warmers, they help to take the edge off the cold.

Powercut105.com will give you your zone

I couldn’t find it on there at all, there was a search function to find your supplier where you put your post code in. What is chaffing gel ?

When it gives your supplier just scroll down and it shows your zone

These show the Rota as the level ramp up

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Ah ok thank you 😊 I didn’t bother to check my supplier as I already knew it.
Yeah the level charts are a bit worrying as they go on but I think they have said (at the moment anyway) that it would be 3 hours at a time which I’m guessing is level one.

All of the blocks in levels 1-3 are three hours at a time…

In fact it isn’t until level 7 that you start to get back to back blocks

Things would have to be really bad for us to get to level 7

We have just ordered some magic lights that have batteries in them. They take extra electricity when on and this goes into a little storage battery. When power goes off you can switch lights on with battery power. Lasts about 6 hours. We just bought 4. I am not sitting in dark. I always keep a good stock of tinned food, soups etc and have a full freezer. I keep stocked up with washing powder, fabric softener, loo rolls and lem sips etc. I also have a portable gas camping stove with 2 rings that runs of bottled gas. Torches, head torch, flasks and fleece blankets to snuggle under. I often buy extra bits for my grown up children too.

I see a few of you are posting on the power outages thread in AIBU. I can't be bothered to engage. Why is the sensible chat always interspersed with people who think we're ridiculous? Why do preppers get laughed at? Especially when we're the ones with years of experience & knowledge to share.

We're the ones who will be able to look after ourselves, our families, our friends & our neighbours if problems arise - why is that something to be mocked?

I'm tired of being laughed at called ridiculous by folk who claim all you need is 1 torch and some sandwiches - are they just going to huddle their families around this one central beacon like the Blair Witch Project?! No, they'll just pop out and buy what they need when it happens. When everything is sold out.

I consider prepping to be a responsibility - social, parental, moral.

Anyway, I just had to get that out cause it's been bugging me reading it the last few days. I'm now off to re-arrange my emergencies store as my husband pointed out keeping the Iodine tablets + water purification tablets stacked together might not be too smart as they're the same size/shape box 😂

Yes we have those in our lamps. The power goes off but the lights stay on.

It was the same on our 'Prepping for a Pandemic' threads. I cannot get my head around folk having no back up for various scenarios. It's like having house insurance to me. Definitely a responsible thing to do.

Similar mocking today on my local Next door digest app. Loads of locals going "not going to happen!!" and "Stop Scaremongering!" Calling others irresponsible for even discussing the possible outages.

Leave the fuckers to their Blair Witch style blackouts I say 😂

our poor friends on shetland hopefully were at least a little prepared...

hopefully it will be solved soon!

news.sky.com/story/complete-outage-on-shetland-leaves-phones-internet-and-computers-unusable-12725347

Humans are all shit scared. We have the capacity to worry, fret, fear, dread and panic. We have to keep this in check every day or we would be jibbering wrecks.

Prepping and denying are both expected emotional responses to threats. Different people react differently to threats.

COVID was fascinating because the number of and fervour of denialists was related to the scale of the threat. The 'threats' from COVID were varied - health, money, freedoms were all changed/threatened. Some people prioritise one threat over another.

I personally think very mild prepping is the right approach for me - because that soothes my fears. Others prefer not to pre-empt fear, they will deal with what comes when it gets here. It is not possible that anyone sane has no fear ever though.

At risk of being #bekind about it, preppers and non-preppers could do well to understand each other as we've a load of worries potentially cropping up in the year ahead.

@RosettaTheGardenFairy i was going to post something similar, wondered why it was that people who prep are seen as foil hat wearing nutters and I wondered if it was a cultural thing here in UK as we haven’t, for a long time now had any major incidences before the pandemic anyway. I remember the Covid threads on here saying it’s not going to happen etc. I’m only a minor prepper tbh and this thread is incredibly useful to me with everyone being so knowledgeable. I only started prepping with the start of the pandemic and I wasn’t one of those people who thought it wouldn’t get bad! My husband try’s to play things down as he doesn’t want me to worry but like someone else said it actually helps to me think I am a little prepared.
@lannistunut that’s a good point about people coping in different ways and for some I guess denial keeps them sane or as they see it dealing with it when it happens.

@RosettaTheGardenFairy , I admit I've been trying on the other threads.
Definitely at the "fuck you lot" stage.