Mail online article about how the rolling blackouts will be planned and implemented.

Trapdoor

This is quite interesting ‘official information’, and I’m trying to determine which Load Block I fall into as Octopus don’t appear to print it on their bills … unless it’s the ‘Postcode Area Alpha Identifier’!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11329425/Government-documents-reveals-blackouts-managed-starting-three-power-cuts-week.html

[Deleted User]

It's also pretty accurate - which some would say is unusual for a Daily Mail article.

Old information but a decent summary.

Spoonie_Turtle

[Deleted User] said:

It's also pretty accurate - which some would say is unusual for a Daily Mail article.

Old information but a decent summary.

That's very charitable!

Chrysalis

The whole thing is controversial.

Some blocks have 3, others 4.  On higher level lockdowns, the differential remains so those with 4 at level 1 still have one extra at higher levels.

Also some blocks take the brunt multiple times over a weekend whilst others have no cuts over a weekend at all.

I am in one of the worst blocks, maybe the actual worst block, my postcode identifier is S so I assume thats my block.  It has 4 a week with 3 of them on the weekend.

Meanwhile block A has 2 of its 3 outages just after midnight, and the 3rd is on a Wednesday.  So there hasnt been much thought process on how fair this plan is.

Blocks J and T both only have 2 outages with one been at midnight, who thought this stuff up?

What they probably should have done is a points system, give each block a fixed amount of points, and a 3 hour outage i X amunt of points, outages at off peak hours use up less points, meaning if you have outages in those hours you need more to fill your quota, weekend blocks also have more points with the heaviest scoring 3 hour periods been afternoon and early evening during weekends.

If a block has to go over its quota then every consumer in the block gets a "significant" rebate to compensate them for having to deal with more than their fair share.

I would guess also 0-3am blocks would probably never get an outage so asides from been at  much more conveniant time its also less likely to happen so the variance could be huge like S getting 3 a week and T none. 

This might explain a few things as most winters in last week of december I get a power cut that usually lasts multiple hours, it wouldnt surprise if was 3.  I can see at end of road streetlights always on at the other street when these winter cuts occur.

ChaunceyGardiner

Chrysalis said:

I am in one of the worst blocks, maybe the actual worst block, my postcode identifier is S so I assume thats my block.  It has 4 a week with 3 of them on the weekend.

I'm also an S, in Edinburgh. It does seem as though we've drawn the short straw, weekend-wise.

Yorkie006

Well, I'm in block T so that's my weekends ruined... 
Just out of curiosity - if we had blackout for several hours a day, and the food in the freezer thawed out, would home insurance cover this? I do some batch cooking so my freezer is always at least half full and obviously without power for 6+ hrs a day, that could all well be ruined.

MalMonroe

Trapdoor said:

This is quite interesting ‘official information’, and I’m trying to determine which Load Block I fall into as Octopus don’t appear to print it on their bills … *unless it’s the ‘Postcode Area Alpha Identifier’!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11329425/Government-documents-reveals-blackouts-managed-starting-three-power-cuts-week.html

Hopefully it's all even more 'iffy' than it was before now the government is about to have a major shake up, and especially given that the Mail article is littered with 'ifs' and 'coulds' as well as the sentence "the electricity systems operator said it is still unlikely".

I'm crossing fingers that we won't have any load shedding but my friends in South Africa have been coping with it for a few years now. Not that they enjoy it.

*I'm also with Octopus and yes, it IS as you say, the 'postcode area alpha identifier' that you need. It's always very near the top of page 2, left hand side, on my bills. 

ChaunceyGardiner

Yorkie006 said:

 
Just out of curiosity - if we had blackout for several hours a day, and the food in the freezer thawed out, would home insurance cover this? I do some batch cooking so my freezer is always at least half full and obviously without power for 6+ hrs a day, that could all well be ruined.

I think it would be ok, the blocks aren't contiguous, so your freezer has 3 hours to bring the temperature back down before the next interruption. I've wrapped my fridge freezer in duvets and blankets during previous power cuts to give it a hand, although I appreciate that won't be possible in many cases.

Chrysalis

League table as below. Guessing the people who did the plan, lived in blocks J, A and T.
S is comfortably the worst.

Points are scored as follows.

1 point for any block between midnight and 6am on a weekday.
2 points for any block between midnight and 6am on a weekend.
3 points for any block between 6am and 6pm on a weekday.
6 points for any block between 6pm and midnight on a weekday.
6 points for any block between 6am and midday on a weekend.
9 points for any block between midday and midnight on a weekend.

J - 4
A - 5
T - 5
B - 10
E - 10
H - 10
Q - 10
M - 11
C - 12
G - 12
K - 12
R - 12
L - 13
D - 15
N - 18
U - 21
P - 22
S - 28

Chrysalis

Yorkie006 said:

Well, I'm in block T so that's my weekends ruined... 
Just out of curiosity - if we had blackout for several hours a day, and the food in the freezer thawed out, would home insurance cover this? I do some batch cooking so my freezer is always at least half full and obviously without power for 6+ hrs a day, that could all well be ruined.

T is one of the premium blocks, your one weekend block is at midnight to 3am.

I have as a comparison 12-3pm Saturday, then another the same day at 6-9pm.  Blackouts probably wont end on the dot either, so 3-6pm probably wont be 3 hours of power.  If thats not enough I then have another afternoon block on Sunday.

I also assume they not going to do the blackouts unless the load is high, so those off peak blocks, I expect wont even get a blackout.  The score not only is a convenience score but also reflects the likelihood of blackouts.

Note also some blocks are missing from the table, if its like America if you live in the same block as a hospital you get treated the same as the hospital no power cuts.

ariarnia

we seem to have a lot of 'S' on the forum. can i check where everyone is seeing the letter? if it's this letter that you are seeing then i dont think that's it. either that or a disproportional number of people all live in the same area. 


https://www.electricityprices.org.uk/mpas-online/