Talk of power cuts?

[julianf]

There's been talk of power cuts over the winter.

I don't entirely see this as a logical conclusion, but then there's undoubtedly factors I'm unaware of.

The reason I'm asking -

I have an old Lister CS in a friend's barn. I really don't want to bother moving it here and setting it up, but, if I really thought there was to be significant power outages, then I would.

We have wood fired heating and cooking here but electricity is always useful. Especially for the freezer.

So, what do you think?

We are in a (larger) Devon village.

 

[gaz1]

what a load of tosh is my opinion

its more of either pay us our prices or get no power threat from the power companies you dont own us and you wont dictate to us

so go get stuffed

UK Plans for Blackouts in January in Emergency Energy Plan

The UK is planning for several days over the winter when cold weather may combine with gas shortages, leading to organized blackouts for industry and even households.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[julianf]

I assume the suggestion is that, under the price cap, suppliers will not be able to operate, and hence leave the market, thereby causing supply issues.

I don't entirely understand the bill increases. We are on a renewables only tariff, and it's not like the solar farms in the south west are suddenly costing 3x as much to run, but that's another debate.

All I'm really interested in is if I should bother to move my generator. We don't generally have that much in the way of power outages here hence why it's shoved in a barn somwhere.


As per my other posts, space is always at a massive premium here, so I'm I'm reluctant to move it unless there's a real liklyhood of issues.

 

[gaz1]

all it would take is close the companys down and london then you would have enough power for the households

like i said this is just scaremongering at its best, to say pay the new higher bills or do without

 

[Spark plug]

Basically what they are saying is if there is a very cold period without any wind in January when demand is highest, there may not be enough power to go round. First large consuming business will be paid to stop production but if that’s not enough then the next step is load shedding where sections of the grid will be disconnected to preserve the rest.

Basically what’s happened is old power stations have been closing and there have not been any new replacements built. Combine this with the gas problems everyone knows about and your not in a good place.

Still it’s only a if and maybe tin foil hat situation but it’s possible.

As for digging the generator out, if you get it out you won’t need it and if you don’t you will.

 

[julianf]

As for digging the generator out, if you get it out you won’t need it and if you don’t you will.

Just like you can control if the repair works or not, by if you've put all the case back on or not.

 

[Gareth J]

If nothing is mission critical, I'd gamble and see what happens. Some information regarding what is likely to be shut down and where, if that's available, would be helpful for you.

That said, I'm keeping my eye out for a portable generator for this winter. We're dependent on a bit of electric to run the boiler. But that has none of the storage issues you're concerned with and would be useful elsewhere.

As a compromise, why not make sure your Genny is working and you have wiring to suit so that, if it happens, it's a relatively straightforward setup if you need to go get it.

 

[GRW]

I've got an old enclosed quiet 6kva Honda petrol generator that needs getting going up at my folks place covered in dust and cobwebs.
I've been thinking along similar lines... that I should find some time to get it going and available.
IMO it's always good to feel there is a bit of independent backup available

 

[Bladevane]

A freezer will stay cold for hours provided the door is not opened regularly. I hope that if rolling power cuts were enforced they would not last for more than a few hours, unlike some poor souls whose power supplies were off for days due to damaged lines.

 

[James1979]

I think the guy just wanted to know if it was worth sorting his genny out.

I would if I had the time and it wasn’t a big job.

I’ve one here as we get cuts rather than outages routinely through the winter. Usually it’s back on before you really notice but it doesn’t hurt to have a back up.

@julianf if you have a genny and the space to put it and it isn’t too much faff I’d set it up.

 

[Smouser]

The people in South Africa have been struggling with 'load shedding' for years.
Mainly due to corruption, poor planning and theft.

It is a massive inconvenience to not have power available when you need it.

You can read more here https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/08/south-africa-power-loadshedding-eskom/

 

[ukracer]

I assume the suggestion is that, under the price cap, suppliers will not be able to operate, and hence leave the market, thereby causing supply issues.

I don't entirely understand the bill increases. We are on a renewables only tariff, and it's not like the solar farms in the south west are suddenly costing 3x as much to run, but that's another debate.

All I'm really interested in is if I should bother to move my generator. We don't generally have that much in the way of power outages here hence why it's shoved in a barn somwhere.


As per my other posts, space is always at a massive premium here, so I'm I'm reluctant to move it unless there's a real liklyhood of issues.

Whatever the reason for the cost of the fuel gas/electric there is no reason for doubling the standing charge.

This does not allow the customer to reduce their bill by using less and less.

It's a monopoly...

 

[Pete.]

Suppliers are not the same as generation and distribution

If we have power cuts this winter I will eat my hat, scare mongering based on cherry picking lines from statements

Friend of mine work(ed) for the Grid. Couple of years ago a series of big tranformers went down. One went pop and the following ones were so close to the limit they followed like dominoes. Huge things with casings 3" thick blew up like footballs. He said it came very close to blacking out a large section of the city.

 

[steveo3002]

scare people for a few days with no elec /heating etc then they will be gagging to pay whatever is asked , much like the recent fuel shortage soon as there was fuel avail no one moaned it had gone up 20-30p a litre ....im sure that fuel shortage was fabricated for someones benefit

if theres not enough fuel and food to go around why are we still building more houses on every scrap of land and welcoming in our overseas friends so benefits can pay their elec bill

 

[anto44]

If I was you I'd get the generator up and running where it is now, that way it's ready to be delivered to you if you decide you need it later in the year. If there's any problems with the genny that requires repairs or parts ordered you can sort it now at your leisure while it's not needed.

 

[julianf]

The engine has not been run in some time, but it's a single cylinder diesel - there's not much that can be wrong.

But it's not got the alternator on it. That's on the floor here. They've never been coupled, so it's a small "project" to get it running. I don't perceive much of one, but a bit of one.

My trouble is that as soon as the engine is uncovered my friend will suggest it should be moved. It's not causing him bother currently.

So I can go and get it, no problems there... And it's only 5 mins away. But as soon as I start drawing attention to it, I'll loose the, umm, storage.


Otherwise checking it all over right now would certainly be the smart move.

 

[Robotstar5]

The engine has not been run in some time, but it's a single cylinder diesel - there's not much that can be wrong.

But it's not got the alternator on it. That's on the floor here. They've never been coupled, so it's a small "project" to get it running. I don't perceive much of one, but a bit of one.

My trouble is that as soon as the engine is uncovered my friend will suggest it should be moved. It's not causing him bother currently.

So I can go and get it, no problems there... And it's only 5 mins away. But as soon as I start drawing attention to it, I'll loose the, umm, storage.


Otherwise checking it all over right now would certainly be the smart move.

Is it a Start-O-matic set or just an alternator coupled to the CS?

 

[roblane65]

My trouble is that as soon as the engine is uncovered my friend will suggest it should be moved. It's not causing him bother currently.

So I can go and get it, no problems there... And it's only 5 mins away. But as soon as I start drawing attention to it, I'll loose the, umm, storage.

ah the old conundrum of free storage

 

[julianf]

Is it a Start-O-matic set or just an alternator coupled to the CS?

Cs6 with the spoked flywheels, and a som base, with a modern 240v alternator.

So not a som. No automation at all. But less to fail.

 

[R Kraft]

Friend of mine work(ed) for the Grid. Couple of years ago a series of big tranformers went down. One went pop and the following ones were so close to the limit they followed like dominoes. Huge things with casings 3" thick blew up like footballs. He said it came very close to blacking out a large section of the city.

The large transformers failing can be catastrophic.
Some of them have a 5 year lag in construction and delivery.