National Grid tripping out

A 'millisecond' blackout doesn't really make sense, what do you actually mean?

You must have some fancy test equipment to measure this!

Also how do you know it is not a fault on your property?

You'll only be getting your power direct from the National Grid if you are a very large electricity consumer indeed. If that applies to you I suggest you complain to your account team at National Grid.

The rest of us get our power via a distribution network operator (formerly our regional electricity company). Very short breaks are often caused by automatic switching operations in the distribution network (e.g. tap-changers).

The last time I had my hands on kit capable of measuring

whatever trips/outages you have been getting will be unlikely to originate with the National Grid. They will be due to equipment belonging to your local supply company who look after all kit that works on voltages below

Local sub-station; thanks.

We can close this thread now. Unless there is someone who knows how to get the clowns in charge of the substation to do their job properly.

I have one of these mains disturbance recorders

but it only indicates blackouts of 10ms (1/2 a 50Hz cycle)

Probably an earthquake near Vanuatu.

O no! We rely on product shipped from there. Will it disrupt airmail?

(True but not meant seriously.I hope. :-) )

Weatherlawyer scribbled...

You'll have more to complain about in a couple of weeks

Engineers will be watching World Cup matches to ensure Britain?s electricity network can cope with the expected power surges during key games. Staff from the National Grid have been analysing data from previous major football games to try and predict what may happen next month so they can prevent electricity demand outstripping supply as people rush for post-match cups of tea or half-time loo breaks.

Was it windy? Normally I notice this sort of thing when its windy near where the overhead wires run. Its my belief, though I cannot prove it that nobody looks at theproximity of tree growth to over head wires anymore and so, every so oftne they get hit and occasionally touch other wires, eventually failing big time of course. Brian

On 30/05/2014 07:58, Jabba wrote: ...

A good excuse for the staff at Dinorwig to watch the matches :-)

Colin Bignell

There were 3 brief supply interruptions here at around 10.45 yesterday evening. Long enough to dim the lights and cause the router to reset.

Summer is when the electricity supply network undergoes routine/planned maintenance. This village has two incoming 11kV supplies. I don't know how these are normally connected but, for fault limitation, only one might be in use at a time.

Surely substation failures are a Poisson process.

-- Richard

Overhead lines and inadequate maintainence of the trees overhanging them. At least that is the most common problem up in North Yorkshire.

The other one with legacy three phase vertically on local poles is when the insulation perishes and dangles down from one phase to the next. In bad weather this gives some really good arcing and sparking displays.

It has to get *really* bad before they come out and replace!

Have you misplaced them? Are they down the back of the sofa?

Clue: This is not a forum.

Just when it's getting amusing?

The closing or otherwise of this thread is not in your gift.

If there are fish swimming around in the substations, it is little wonder that they fail.

Colin Bignell