Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Does anyone know if we would be told of a power cut about to happen? or would it be a case of the electricity going off before you knew anything about it? If there is a schedule and we can prepare for a known about period without power that's one scenario but random power outs with no warning would definately be less easy to deal with.

[Deleted User]

You usually get a warning, about 10-15 minutes before the power goes off, in the form of the lights going quickly off and on, a couple of times.

That would at least give you time to locate the torch(es).

RAS

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Does anyone know if we would be told of a power cut about to happen? or would it be a case of the electricity going off before you knew anything about it? If there is a schedule and we can prepare for a known about period without power that's one scenario but random power outs with no warning would definately be less easy to deal with.

The 3 day week was organised powercuts with a 6 day rota.

The big powercut was totally unpredicted. Apparently when it gets cold the powerlines arc more than usual and when they are carrying a high load they arc more then usual.

It was a very cold night and people were using a lot of power. One large powerline arced a lot and earthed. That meant more power surging through the other lines, another of which arced and earthed. After that they started going down, some earthing and some overloaded before the central controllers could get the power output reduced.

When it got to be like dominos a very brave person pulled the switches to isolate southern England from the rest of the country and put the power out across southern England. Doing that plunged everyone into darkness but saved as much as possible of the infrastructure intact.

The key to the problem proved to be two ash trees that had grown faster then projected and when the power load was high enough and the arc enough, the power earthed through them.

Took a while to get the powerlines back up and running.

Wyre

short_bird wrote: »

GQ, you may find that some sites don't work on FF - form filling is often a bugbear - at which point you use IE instead. Simples.

Depending on the site I may need to disable the adblocker or click the shield bit in the address bar and disable protection (for that page) so I can see and fill in some pages, but overall I have had fewer issues with FF than I ever had with IE.

I have spent the afternoon making a list of preps to get on payday and talking with my eldest, who lives away from home term time, regarding her getting some basic preps - torch batteries and making sure she has gloves, hat and scarf etc.

In many regards we are lucky. Our Victorian house has never had the fireplace removed or chimney blocked off and we started using it a couple of years back, so we have a source of heating and cooking as well as a gas stove that does work when the power goes and a gas cannister heater. A cannister stove is being bought asap!

Wyre

maryb wrote: »

I was having a lot of trouble with Chrome this week - it was freezing and juddering - almost unusable. There are some websites that you simply have to use other browsers for eg the State Pensions website won't work when you ask for a forecast if you are using Chrome but it's fine with FF - they told me that when I phoned up because I couldn't get the forecast online.

Only thing that keeps me with Chrome is that it's very easy to bookmark a page and that's the way I keep track of threads on MSE, in a folder called "Threads I am following" (original innit?) because the subscribe function seems a bit hit and miss. When I have finished reading the posts on a thread I bookmark the page then delete previous bookmarks so when I open it up again I go straight to the first unread post. I couldn't see how to do that in FF.

In FF to bookmark a page you click the star in the address bar. If you want to edit it, put it in a certain folder etc you click the star again (it will now be golden) and a box pops up where you can do all that. Hope that helps!

(Can you tell I have been reading backwards again? hehe)

GreyQueen

Re power cuts, I have read that the generating companies study the TV schedules to work out when the populace are liable to want their cuppas and when the demand is likely to surge. I know that there's a huge difference between me asleep and me awake; kettle, pooter, perhaps the stereo.

I'm sure a lot of us who have cooked on mains gas for years have known the phenomenon when everybody seems to be cooking the Sunday roast/ Crimble dinner, and the gas seems to have less oomph per advertised gas mark. As they say in general cooking; know your stove. Mine runs a bit fierce all the time, so if an instruction says cook for 15-20 mins at X heat, my stove will have it bordering on overdone at 15 mins.

I boil the kettle on the gas stove but have retained the old electric jug kettle as a back up in case the leccy is on and that gas off. Never underestimate the morale-booster of a hot drink or soup in time of hardship and uncertainty. And S0d's Law will dictate that powercuts will come in winter time not in June with it's long days.

I think the issue is to think about redundancy; if the main cooker is off, what else can I cook on? How else can I have light and warmth? Does my back-up have a back-up? No one can be prepared for each and every eventuality, but keeping self warm, fed, safe etc is just commonsensical to me.

Crazy how what was once just good housekeeping/ good husbandry has become the domain of "preppers". The majority have been so lulled by decades of easy living that they haven't needed to consider that the conveniences of life may not always be available at the flick of a switch

I read a newspaper article one time about a woman out in the sticks whose home (all electric home) lost power for 2-3 days most winters. And how inconvenient is was not being able to cook etc. Honestly, after the first time I would have been sorted with a portable gas stove and cannisters, not going thru the nuisance year after year and whingeing about it in the media.

Better to have thought this through beforehand than to be having kittens when the lights go off.

ETA Bedsit Bob, this double-flicker of the lights pre-powercut; do you know if that's an accidental manifestation of the dwindling power, or is this something done by the suppliers as a coded warning that it's about to go off?

westcoastscot

I don't feel smug at all! I feel quite sad that as a nation we've been led down the capitalist road of giving up any semblance of self-reliance, and now we're paying the price. I'm very worried about how people will cope and shall do the best I can to offer support and assistance as and when I can. It isn't just about a lack of awareness - if you are living long term below the poverty line it can be really difficult just to get through the day, never mind think ahead. Hunger and cold are daily situations for lots of people - we should consider ourselves fortunate to have the time, ability and inclination to prep.
WCS

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

I know that there's a huge difference between me asleep and me awake

The volume of your snoring?

ETA Bedsit Bob, this double-flicker of the lights pre-power cut; do you know if that's an accidental manifestation of the dwindling power, or is this something done by the suppliers as a coded warning that it's about to go off?

I understand it's a signal from the power company.

The only time you would be likely to get dwindling power, is if the grid suffers a cascading failure, with generators/station dropping off, one at a time.

An intentional power cut is going to be pretty much instantaneous, as the switches are opened.

[Deleted User]

A few days ago MAR suggested perhaps working out a menu for difficult times, not using your stores but using what you can 'find' or catch so I've had a go. I think it would be quite limited if you couldn't use any of the stored food so I've included options for adding in some if needed. It's going to get a bit samey, but will keep you alive

Breakfasts - Hot Herb/Flower tisane (whatever is in season or readily available)any of the following, Potato Floddies, Potato Cakes (using some flour) Hot Cereal (oats, barley, rice,etc) with Milk if available, Fried Carrots,Parsnips and Potatoes.

Lunches - Wild leaf salad (whatever is in season), Nettle Soup,Oatcakes and Apples, Soft Cheese if access to source of milk, Fruits and Nuts in season.

Evening Meal- A Hearty Stew based on root veg and grains, for protien any legumes grown or dried, meat, game, fish you can hunt and catch, seasoned with herbs and served with cooked wild leaf greens in season.

A cup of hot milk for supper with an apple or some honey if you have bees and it is available.

Not a terribly exciting menu, but I think it would be achieveable with some work, Cheers Lyn xxx.

jk0

Zerohedge seems to be behaving itself now.