Has the UK ever had an interruption to the gas supply?

[AuADHD]

As an autistic and ARFID household I‘m worried about what we’d eat in the 3 day emergency scenario, except snacks. I realised last night that I could still cook with the gas hob as long as there’s no interruption to supply.i have matches to light the gas. We’ve had plenty of power cuts but I’ve never known of any issues with the gas. Could the gas be cut off?
I’m prepped for no water, have lots of snacks, plenty in the pantry and freezer as normal but suddenly worried if I’d be able to heat anything. We have power banks and batteries and candles and motion sensor rechargeable lights charged. Toiletries and pet food all in good stock.
I thought about getting a kettle for the hob because cups of tea are very important for dd in particular.
There’s no chance anyone would eat cold beans or soup as is being suggested on other threads. We’d rather go hungry.

I’m 60 and I don’t really remember that happening- apart from a localised incident now and then. However, I think there are unknowns around how reliant on electricity the modern gas supply is. I assume suppliers have back up generators to keep the gas flowing. There is also the issue of how much tech for gas supply there is in our homes which depends on our home electricity supply.
I couldn’t convince my husband to keep gas cooking but we still have gas heating.

I wish I still had gas to cook. If you do, you are less likely to have any problems.

Not a uk wide one but localised shut of for 3 days is certainly possible. Usually due to gas main leak or similar.

If food issues mean you wouldn't be able to make use of food vans etc it might be woth getting a small portable gas stove.

A couple of years ago my old area had no gas for weeks in winter because a burst water pipe leaked into the gas lines so it’s worth having multiple ways to cook and keel warm

Buy a camping stove and bottled gas. Only wau to be sure you csn cook.

I was about to mention this. You were on our local news for a long time!

You don't need a kettle to boil water for tea just use a saucepan.

A nationwide cut would be very unusual, but local interruptions do happen, usually from a damaged main or water getting into the pipes. They can drag on for days because engineers have to visit each home to make it safe and turn the supply back on. Worth knowing: most gas hobs can still be lit with a match in a power cut, but most gas boilers need electricity, so heating can stop even when cooking doesn't. If you ever smell gas or lose your supply, the National Gas Emergency number is 0800 111 999.

It’d be worth getting a camping stove and decent thermos flask(s) for both hot water and food, considering your DCs needs. It would be horrendous to have a power cut and also not be able to heat food (although a few days of just snacks might be dreamland for them).

Even a single burner camping stove would get you out a tight spot.

If it’s a planned disruption there’ll be time to boil kettles, microwave stuff etc, but sudden and unplanned will be pretty awful.

If your DCs are likely to be frightened by a sudden outage some battery lights would also be good, and head torches?

In the 70s there was one winter when people were striking and/or working a 3-day week. The power was ‘cut’ in the evenings on a rota - the newspapers published the time your area wouldn’t have power. I can remember my mum cooking ok, but we ate in the dark as the power had gone off by the time it was ready.

https://www.towler-staines.co.uk/products/cadac-safari-chef-burner-unit-and-legs

We have this one - will heat a tin of beans/ soup/ boil water or fry an egg easily enough.

i hate to ask but will a gas cooker even work if the electricity that works the ignition is off?
ie are there safety shutoffs that sense theres no leccy so it wont let the gas flow to the burner, so you won't even get a chance to use matches as no gas will come out?

we have microwaves and air fryers powered by electricity to cook, so if the gas is off here i will just get cold

but if the electricity is off (and gas supply on) but gas powered central heating and cookers wont work as safety measures kick in due to no leccy then we will have neither gas nor electric?!

We lose power at least for a day most winters. My gas cooker has never stopped working.

I have a wood burner and a camping stove, the small one that is like a brief case that you put canisters of fuel in. The canisters don't last long when we are camping but also they are cheap and easy to store, good for teas and heating tinned food

Same OP, I’ve no idea how I will feed my DS with ARFID. Have a Cobb and a little gas stove from when we used to camp.

Yea of course they do, you just light the gas with a match. We get loads of power cuts and frequently have to do this.

Gas central heating certainly won’t work as the pump won’t run.

OP, yes gas cuts are rare but do happen. They can happen either because of damage to a gas main, requiring the gas to be turned off upstream while it is repaired, or a fault at a compressor station. We had one (and a simultaneous electricity cut) lasting a week a few years ago. An electricity substation got flooded and that cut power to the compressor station and then the compressor station’s backup generators got flooded too…

you gas cooker may work but apparently there’s two systems so it depends what you have, google advises:

”Check your appliance's user manual or test your specific model to see if the hob burners rely strictly on a mechanical thermocouple (which works without power) or an electronic/solenoid gas valve (which shuts down when the electricity goes out).”