Who will pay

Northern_Tribe

sevenhills said:

jimjames said:

Price should be enough incentive for many to review and reduce their usage!

The government needs to let the price increase take place, to reduce usage.
One of the countries biggest problems is obesity, at least until the cold weather comes in November 

What is the plan? People will spend so much on power they won't be able to afford to eat.

The_Green_Hornet

tghe-retford said:

The industry experts on BBC Radio 4's PM programme say different. And I am inclined to believe them over the Government on this one. They think we will need to not just cut down on usage (they suggest preparing in advance) but potentially stop using appliances to prevent blackouts and mandatory rationing.

Do we know who these industry experts are?

I'm not saying they are right or wrong but the BBC certainly has form in putting forward experts on subjects who aren't really experts.

[Deleted User]

From the Horse’s Mouth:

https://www.nationalgrideso.com/document/264521/download

https://www.nationalgrid.com/gas-transmission/insight-and-innovation/winter--outlook

There are an awful lot of assumptions in the document. The Government has also appointed an Energy Czar to keep the lights on. His first decision appears to have been to delay the planned closure of some coal-fired power stations.

xeny

Section62 said:

Why cause the public unnecessary stress and worry by telling them to prepare to stop using appliances when there are more practical alternatives such as negotiating with businesses to reduce their consumption at critical times?

If gas supplies are inadequate then we'll close gas power stations to maintain line pressure. Enough of our electricity comes from gas that reducing business electrical consumption might not be enough. That asking consumers to reduce consumption is  being contemplated makes me think this is a realistic possibility

[Deleted User]

pochase said:

MattMattMattUK said:

I have got a camping stove, plenty of gas and power banks, and I can get 3-4 days use out of the hot water tank, if it comes to it then I can weather a couple of days without significant detriment. After two days the food in the freezer will be defrosted, so I guess I will be eating that for a few days.

Our home insurances that cover freezer content will be happy. Anybody know if they have an exclusion for a government blackout?

Of course they do!

tghe-retford

markin said:

tghe-retford said:

The industry experts on BBC Radio 4's PM programme say different. And I am inclined to believe them over the Government on this one. They think we will need to not just cut down on usage (they suggest preparing in advance) but potentially stop using appliances to prevent blackouts and mandatory rationing.

Did they say why? Only the 4% lng we import is really at risk, And we hopefully will have a little storage built up for when its needed, They are reopening it aren't they?

Not from what I recall but the segment is on iPlayer so anyone can double check in case I missed something.

Section62 said:

tghe-retford said:

The industry experts on BBC Radio 4's PM programme say different. And I am inclined to believe them over the Government on this one. They think we will need to not just cut down on usage (they suggest preparing in advance) but potentially stop using appliances to prevent blackouts and mandatory rationing.

Why cause the public unnecessary stress and worry by telling them to prepare to stop using appliances when there are more practical alternatives such as negotiating with businesses to reduce their consumption at critical times?

Sometimes it feels like some people are searching for bad news to cause as much misery as they can.

Probably because it is easier to psychologically nudge consumers to change their behaviour than it is to demand business and industry to reduce their consumption. That or they know that having business and industry reduce consumption will not be enough. Or there is a green, reduce carbon agenda behind all of this because having everyone reduce consumption may be the only way they can meet carbon targets. Fear, uncertainty and doubt is an effective way to get people to change their behaviour and changing behaviour was a key factor recognised by the experts in what we are looking at into Autumn.

pochase

Deleted_User said:

pochase said:

MattMattMattUK said:

I have got a camping stove, plenty of gas and power banks, and I can get 3-4 days use out of the hot water tank, if it comes to it then I can weather a couple of days without significant detriment. After two days the food in the freezer will be defrosted, so I guess I will be eating that for a few days.

Our home insurances that cover freezer content will be happy. Anybody know if they have an exclusion for a government blackout?

Of course they do!

Yes looks like it.

✘ We won’t pay:
• if your freezer or fridge is over 10 years old, unless it is regularly serviced
• for loss or damage resulting from a deliberate act or neglect by you, or by your electricity provider or their employees or agents
• for loss or damage when it has been more than 60 days since you last slept at your home on a regular basis (which doesn’t include occasional visits or stays).

I assume a black-out qualifies as a deliberate act 

[Deleted User]

pochase said:

✘ We won’t pay:
• if your freezer or fridge is over 10 years old, unless it is regularly serviced
• for loss or damage resulting from a deliberate act or neglect by you, or by your electricity provider or their employees or agents
• for loss or damage when it has been more than 60 days since you last slept at your home on a regular basis (which doesn’t include occasional visits or stays).

I assume a black-out qualifies as a deliberate act 

And then there is the strict exclusion against recovery against the electricity provider taking any action deemed necessary to secure the system - so no hope that way either.  Even the usual payments for power outage wouldn't apply.

spot1034

I don't think any blackouts of this sort would be long enough to be a problem for freezers, provided of-course that they were kept closed. We'd probably be be talking about two or three hours at peak time, perhaps less and, given that any shortfall would probably be a fairly small percentage, if extended rationing were to be needed it could be shared out, with different areas being disconnected for shortish periods rather than one unfortunate location being singled out for a prolonged disconnection.

TrainDriver

Northern_Tribe said:

sevenhills said:

jimjames said:

Price should be enough incentive for many to review and reduce their usage!

The government needs to let the price increase take place, to reduce usage.
One of the countries biggest problems is obesity, at least until the cold weather comes in November 

What is the plan? People will spend so much on power they won't be able to afford to eat.

Starvation has 100% success rate as a cure for obesity. Nothing to be proud of but the tories will grasp any silver lining though.