Power Supply - Again

Funny you should write that ...

Tuesday, around 21:30 we lost power.

After a couple of minutes wait, I popped my head out the front door and it looked like some houses had lights on ... streetlights were also on.

A quick fusebox check showed all was OK, so called 105. With remarkably little fuss the nice lady confirmed our area had been subject to "an incident" and was able to tell us 58 properties were involved and from her screen they were waiting for a team to make a cable safe at a lamppost "near a Doctors surgery". This confirmed to me that some n*****ts had hit a lamppost about 50 metres around the corner.

As you noted, without power you suddenly become "well f***ed". In our case, not quite so badly since I've strewn the place with some motion activated nightime LED lights. So were we able to move around quite safely.

However having to catheterise SWMBO was a challenge. A head mounted torch (which I thought I had) has been reordered and received.

Power came back on around 23:00.

We have a gas hob, so cooking would not have been too much of an issue.

However to total lack of panic (which freaked our lad out when we had a power cut years ago) I put down to my 1970s upbringing. I had to get home from school and light the candles :)

On a serious note, I cannot recommend the "cupboard lights" that I have set up. They could potentially be lifesavers if you are on the stairs when the power goes. In fact I would go so far as to say I would mandate all new builds have mains fed ones in key places.

Ask UKPN nicely - particularly when you're dealing with a power cut and they will send you a rechargeable torch with dock for free. Night-lights when it is dark and charges when in the dock. Automatically goes super-bright when the mains fails or the torch is removed from the dock. Nice!

Those of us from the 1950s got very-well used to the "Rota Cuts" of those times.

Candles, candle holders and matches stashed all over the house!

PA

I've an oil aga, so ditto.

In my case it was a cable improperly bedded in not enough sand, a flint, and 30 tonners that use my front garden as a passing place.

If you dont have 11KV overheads, chances are you have three phase power buried underground and heavy lorrries or electric cars are taking their toll

That's where a fuel powered car with USB sockets comes in handy

Almost any light is better than none. My D-I-Y heating controller has

I assume that EVs have USB sockets, with a battery reserve enough for the hungriest device!

That depends on how long the power cut lasts

Mine has, but not powered from the traction battery

When we moved in, I wanted something like that, having seen it on sale in a DIY shed somewhere. Of course when I was ready to buy it, not only had it disappeared, there was no equivalent replacement. A lot of rechargeable torches. A lot of rechargeable torches that came on when removed from the dock. But a rechargeable torch that came on when the power failed ? May as well have asked for a wefijqwpiefhwe[j for the reaction I got.

We also have some combined solar powered/wind-up torches on windows sills if need be. And a wind up lantern from caravanning days.

Most common round here is some sort of vehicle hitting a lampost and damaging cables that run alongside. Or so I am told. They have done their best to replace old style island lights with modern floor mounted ones that refract upwards into the body of the sign.

To be fair, at almost two hours, this was probably one of the longest power cuts I can recall. I can't fault the operator - who correctly noted we have a "priority flag" (due to SWMBO). However I was able to assure her we were totally safe sound, with no worries. We also have a gas fire and a SuperSer in the event of a prolonged power cut.

we've had the odd short break, but about 10 years ago we lost mains from Thurday noon until Tuesday morning. Mind you the supplier did get a diesel genny to us at about 1am on the Friday. So no external power for about 13 hours. We have candles and a portable gas cooker.

we are on a "prority list" because we are both 80+

Well, if UKPN do still offer them, the price is just right;-}

It's still some time until we reach that milestone (if we do!), but we were on the priority register until recently, when I asked to be removed. The removal was prompted by a series of automated phone calls in the middle of the night to say that the power had failed, that it would be off until X o'clock, and that it had been restored. When I complained about being woken, repeatedly, the complaints handler said that notification was an OFCOM(?) requirement and that it was not possible to opt out of automated night time calls. Bl**dy stupid!

It's why I fitted a transfer switch, so I can run the whole house of a gen set[1] :-)

Probably ali cable we have had lots of problems locally, mainly having to re-do joints in parts of the town of that vintage. Fortunately not here as

"Jeff Ga>

I was surprised to discover, thanks to the helpful person who came round before recent gas main replacement, that simply being of pensionable age is enough to be on the priority register.

Chris

You'll not only be on the gas priority register, but they'll notify