It is now almost a week since Storm Arwen (the first named storm of the season) hit the UK, causing significant damage, particularly in the east of Scotland and in the north east of England. Tragically, it resulted in three fatalities, and also in considerable damage to the country’ energy infrastructure, with the result that at its worst, customers were left without electricity in Scotland, England and Wales. According to The Energy Networks Associationi:
Damage to the power network from Storm Arwen has affected around 1,000,000 homes and businesses.
That is a staggering amount of damage and disruption from a single storm. One has to sympathise with both the engineers and others struggling to restore power to those affected, often in awful weather conditions, and those freezing in their homes without access to heat or light or the ability to cook or even warm up food.
Even today, although 3,000 homes have apparently seen power restored during the course of the day, 16,000 households continue to suffer, while outside temperatures remain very low (and so, presumably do indoor ones, in the absence of means to heat homes). And although it is hoped that significant progress will be made tomorrow, it is likely that some homes will still be without electricity as late as Saturday, more than a week after the storm struck and their power disappeared.
Not surprisingly, the thoughts of some unfortunate individuals have turned to the wisdom of purchasing [diesel] generators in case they find themselves in a similar situation in futureii:
Linda Dunk had the power restored to her Aberdeenshire home on Thursday afternoon after six days without heating, light or water.
She told BBC News she was looking forward to a hot bath after days which had seen her and her husband cooking on a one hob gas burner, using electric torches and flushing the toilet with a bucket.
She said they were going to get a generator as she thought the infrastructure had been so badly damaged there may be more problems later this winter.
“I don’t want to spend another six days like this, I’m too old,” she said. “I want to go to bed not worrying about these sorts of things.”
And indeed, in a modern, western, developed, wealthy country, such a desire shouldn’t be an unreasonable one. So what an indictment of the system that people now don’t feel confident unless they own a generator.
Moreover, what does this say for the “net zero” agenda? The agenda that will supposedly see the entire nation pretty much dependent on electricity for everything, from heating and cooking to driving and travelling. What happens when the demand on the infrastructure is so much more intense and another Storm Arwen or a cyberterrorist attack or perhaps some other as yet unforeseen eventuality takes out a significant proportion of the nation’s electricity supply?
The BBC has, in fairness to it, had dozens of articles on its website about Storm Arwen and its aftermath. I think an articleiii which appeared there three days ago probably sets out all too clearly what “net zero” Britain could look like if a storm or an attack damaged the nation’s electricity supply:
After three nights without electricity, residents in the parts of Scotland worst affected by Storm Arwen are growing weary.
In Torphins, Aberdeenshire, people are struggling to keep warm in sub-zero temperatures and are grateful for the hot food handed out by local good Samaritans.
Among them are Paul and Rebecca Murray, a father and his daughter, who are relying on the heat provided by a single gas heater….
…Paul and Rebecca have no phone signal to contact anyone and on Sunday there was no water. “It’s absolutely terrifying,” Rebecca said…
…”I don’t think we can go another night without power,” she said.
“It’s been really, really cold. We’re lucky, we’ve got a stove and lots of logs but obviously with more snow, it’s just maddening, absolutely maddening.”
She said that food in her freezer is starting to defrost and she has to walk to the main road to get signal on her phone…
…Meanwhile in Aberfeldy, in Perth and Kinross, Debbie Martin has bought a second-hand generator after recently switching to fully-electric heating…
…She told the BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “You can’t do the things you would normally do.
“You can’t brush your teeth because your toothbrush is flat. You have to drive round in the car to charge your phone.
“To boil the kettle, I’ve been putting it on the log burner stove and it’s been taking an hour and a half.”…
…”We bought a second-hand generator in Dundee yesterday, so we’ve gone round a couple of neighbours’ houses to get their phones and iPads charged because people can’t contact relatives.”…
And in another BBC articleiv there was this:
Jayme Yates-Bell, from Kendal, has diabetes and kidney failure and said the situation she faced was “really challenging”.
“We need to know how long we’re going to be like this,” she said.
“I’ve got a fridge with my medicine in that’s now probably useless.”
Log burners, gas heaters, diesel generators, driving around in petrol or diesel (obviously not electric) cars to charge ‘phones are the tactics people have had to resort to in order to get by and live anything approximating to a normal life. I listened open-mouthed to Evan Davis on the PM programme on BBC Radio 4 the other day, as he casually asked an interviewee whether local authorities’ disaster recovery plans should include provision to supply (presumably tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands) of generators in future to people adversely affected by power cuts. The interviewee replied equally casually that perhaps they should.
And what conclusions are drawn by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Secretary of State charged with overseeing all this?
He said the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy would be looking at the lessons of the storm, to improve the resilience of power system [sic].v
Which, I suppose, is better than nothing, but it doesn’t fill me with confidence. I’d be a bit happier if it dawned on him that being reliant on unreliable electricity for absolutely everything isn’t the best way forward. We have just been shown a vision of the future. welcome to Britain 2050. No wonder the Government doesn’t want a referendum on “net zero”.
Endnotes
i https://www.energynetworks.org/newsroom/around-one-million-people-affected-by-storm-damage-to-power-network
ii https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59506359
iii https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59457927
Climate Scepticism 
AFAIK, wind has yet to disable a gas pipeline system in Britain. Perhaps because they’re buried.
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I find myself staring into space thinking, “How prepared am I if the grid falls over?” My answer: not very.
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The BBC’s website has a follow-up piece today:
“Storm Arwen: Surviving seven days of winter without electricity”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59504845
It never seems to occur to them that this could be what a “net zero” future looks like. It doesn’t look pretty.
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“Storm Arwen: Homes without power for 12 days is ‘best estimate'”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-59516192
“The electricity supplier for the North East has warned that some homes will still be without power on Wednesday – 12 days after Storm Arwen struck.
Northern Powergrid (NP) said its “best estimate” was that all of its 6,600 customers still off would be connected by Thursday.
Earlier, a major incident was declared in Northumberland and the Army was drafted in to County Durham for help.
In Cumbria, 1,300 households were without electricity on Friday evening.
Regulator Ofgem has launched an “urgent” review into the energy network companies’ response to the widespread cuts.”
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Letters in the Herald in Scotland, pulled together by Willie Jackson at Scotland Against Spin:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ScotlandAgainstSpin/posts/5197470703615283/
I particularly liked this one:
“Where are Greta Thunberg, Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie now to explain to the thousands of households in the north-east still without power the benefits of being solely dependent on electricity with no gas or log burners or oil or solid fuel stoves or oil or gas boilers? Sole dependency on air heat source (AHS) pumps? I don’t think so.
As an aside, I have yet to have it explained to me how an AHS pump is to be fitted onto the back wall of every tenement flat, in back courts with restricted vehicle access, and I see no sign yet of the further disruptive works necessary to instal car charging points every couple of metres along every pavement.
In 2013 we on the west coast of Arran suffered considerable snow drifts and a continuous seven-day power loss, but with an oil Aga, and for cooking and water heating a gas hob and a log-burner and back up mobile cylinder gas heater, life was okay. But the three aforementioned experts want us to rip all that out in preference for their as-yet only alternative, the totally
impractical AHS pumps. No thank you: back to the drawing board for that idea, as the last few days has proved elsewhere.
And by the way, the diesel four by four SUV kept us mobile during that week and able to render assistance to others less fortunate than ourselves.
Neil Arthur, Kilpatrick, Isle of Arran.”
There are others saying much the same thing, if you follow the link above.
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“Storm Arwen: Snow, rain, and wind set to hit homes still without power”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59535707
“Snow, rain, and wind have been forecast to sweep across areas still affected by power outages from Storm Arwen.
Thousands in northern England and Scotland remain without power after the storm more than a week ago.
The Met Office issued snow and rain warnings for these areas overnight on Saturday, with poor weather also expected into next week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he “remains concerned” so many properties are still without power.
Around 4,700 homes across northern England and Scotland are still without electricity after the storm hit on 26 November, industry body the Energy Networks Association confirmed….
…However, on Monday and Tuesday the UK is set to see more wind, rain, and snow – with strong winds expected on Wednesday too.
Northern Powergrid previously said many of the affected homes could be without power until Wednesday, which will be 12 days after the storm’s 98mph gusts tore down electricity lines….”
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“Generators from Southampton for people still suffering power loss in Cumbria”
https://cumbriacrack.com/2021/12/05/generators-from-southampton-for-people-still-suffering-power-loss-in-cumbria/
“Workers from Electricity North West have brought generators from as far away as Southampton for people still suffering power loss after Storm Arwen.
The firm said last night that it was still working to restore power to the final few properties affected by Storm Arwen and fewer than 120 customers remained affected.
Electricity North West’s Regulation and Communications Director, Paul Bircham, said: “Our teams have made a huge effort to restore power to impacted customers as quickly as possible, in extremely difficult conditions. Although our restoration efforts are almost complete our work will continue to rebuild the network now that customers are back on.
“We have had generators brought up to Cumbria from as far away as Southampton to to get people back on in areas where the damage is too complex for an immediate fix.””
Generators. From Southampton. Not very green, but then “green” solutions don’t work.
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Jit: “I find myself staring into space thinking, “How prepared am I if the grid falls over?” My answer: not very.”
That thought crossed my mind a few weeks ago and I surprised myself by taking a few steps – I’m usually a procrastinator extraordinaire:
> Bought a “power block” that will recharge phones, iPads, etc up to about 20 goes.
> Bought an extra surge protector so that all sensitive/ valuable stuff is protected: desktop; router; TV; etc. Even if any outages are controlled, there is likely to be some voltage disturbance, etc and sudden failures would be worse.
> Exhumed an old, plug-in corded phone as I believe that the BT network has its own backup whereas mobile towers often do not.
> Keep car fuelled to at least 50% to see me through another spell of panic-buying, should it happen.
> Increased general stocks of non-perishable stuff, not so much against shortages but in order to ride-out any panic-buying episodes.
> Increased my cash ready to be able to pay for stuff if the lights go out.
> Check my torches, candles, batteries, logs, etc..
Ideally I would like to find a power back-up that would run the pump and controls of my gas heating but I’m struggling as everything I’ve found seems designed for servers, etc..
I thought about a genny but that’s a lot of hassle and pretty expensive if I wanted it integrated into my house electrics.
Lastly I’m toying with adding to the “heat sink” capacity of my freezer by putting something hefty in it – a few bricks, for example. That would both help it stay cold and/or could be placed in the fridge section to do the same.
What other measures are relatively cheap and easy?
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This is a bit of an old story, so forgive me if it has already been covered on Open Mic, but I think that the testimony given by Paul McGimpsey, director of regulation at the Energy Networks Association, in front of MP’s is worth recording here. When asked why it was taking so long to restore power to customers, he said:
“It’s not the prevailing wind that you would expect and as such trees fell differently on to the lines.”
So it appears that when routing cables through wooded areas the engineers had quite sensibly taken the expected prevailing wind direction into account. Which is fine, until it isn’t. The fact is that Storm Arwen wasn’t the worst that the North East of England had seen in 15 years, it was just the most north easterly one. The evidence is that the energy network engineers had planned to have occasional large scale damage in preference to the more frequent but more moderate level of damage that might arise from a more haphazard cable routing strategy.
Nevertheless, a certain Debbie Noble of Rothbury, wryly observed:
“If we can only protect our lines from breaking when the wind blows in a certain direction, then we have a bit of a problem.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16970491/energy-bosses-power-cut-crisis-wind/
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Meanwhile:
“Gas crisis fuels call for UK to update energy security policy
As rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine drive prices to record highs, experts warn of lack of strategy for gas supply”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/15/gas-crisis-fuels-call-for-uk-to-update-energy-security-policy
“Ministers are relying on an outdated energy security policy, leading academics have warned, as escalating tensions between Russia and western leaders propelled the gas market to record price highs.
UK gas reached a record closing price of 322.5 pence per therm on Tuesday, according to data from market price experts at ICIS, vaulting ahead of the previous high of just over 298p/therm set in early October this year.
A record was also set in Europe, as the benchmark market in the Netherlands rose to a record €127.45 per megawatt hour, according to ICIS data, breaking through the €116.75/MWh ceiling set in October.
The price spike was triggered by concerns over deteriorating relations with Russia, one of the largest suppliers of gas into Europe, which prompted international condemnation after massing 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border.
The market surge came as the UK Energy Research Council (UKERC), a group of academics funded by the government’s UK Research and Innovation body, called for a review of the country’s energy security policy, warning ministers had been “complacent about the supply of gas for too long”.
Government policy, last updated in 2017, is now out of date and homes may face further volatility in the future, the UKERC cautioned, saying the gas crisis was “not just for Christmas”….”.
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“Net zero chance of coping with storms”
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/net-zero-chance-of-coping-with-storms/
“…Consider this: after days without an electricity supply, many in the North East were still able to charge mobile phones in their cars, enabling them to call friends or authorities for help. They could still get to the shops to buy food, or even move in with friends and relatives who still had power.
How will this work in a net zero world? Would your electric car battery have any charge when you woke up the morning after the storm? If the power cut was in the evening, then almost certainly not – most people will schedule EV charging for the middle of the night, when power is cheapest (and indeed off-peak charging may soon be compulsory). Moreover, ahead of a major storm, grid managers are likely to switch off all EV chargers remotely. If they didn’t, the demand from millions of people worried about the possibility of power cuts, and all trying to top up their batteries at the same time, would bring down the grid.
So, after a future Storm Arwen, tens of thousands of people would wake up to find themselves stuck: no getting food or medicine from the shops, no escape to friends and relatives, no visits to emergency relief centres. Through policy foolishness, an entirely natural winter storm could become a manmade disaster….”.
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thanks for the link above Mark – by the Bish (Andrew Montford) no less.
to add to your quote – “As the lemming-like rush towards the abyss of decarbonisation proceeds, it is clear that electricity system vulnerability is going to become a serious issue – one that threatens lives.”
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Among today’s news of 2 tragic deaths resulting from the second major winter storm, comes confirmation of the stupidity of electrifying everything in sight, for the second time this winter:
“Storm Malik: Boy, 9, dies after tree falls during storm”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60183035
“…About 20,000 properties in Scotland are expected to remain off the power grid all night, and Scotland’s Deputy First Minister John Swinney predicted further problems with the arrival of Storm Corrie.
Northern Powergrid, which supplies power to about 3.9m homes in the north east of England and Yorkshire, said 36,000 customers were still without power as result of Storm Malik, mostly in Northumberland and County Durham….”.
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Here we go again:
“Storm Eunice leaves thousands of homes without power”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60442797
“Energy companies are working to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes after one of the worst storms to hit the UK in decades….
…Number of customers without power as of Friday night:
UK power networks (Southeast and East): 156,000
Scottish and Southern: 120,000 (mainly in the south)
Western Power: 112,000
Northern: 6,000 (mainly in Yorkshire)
Electricity Northwest: 260
Northern Ireland electricity networks: 15…”.
What a great idea to make us all totally dependent on electricity for pretty much everything! Especially given that if the net zero warriors are to be believed, climate change will only make such storms more frequent and more serious (albeit of course the jury is certainly out on that, but not in their minds).
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Another year, another storm, another loss of electricity. It’s going to be great when we’re all dependent on electricity for everything:
“Night without power for homes hit by Storm Otto”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64680495
I assume Chloe doesn’t have an electric car which she was hoping to charge just before the power outage occurred – if so, she might not have been able to travel to stay with her in-laws after all.
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I assume yon Chloe hasn’t lived in the Northeast very long. You don’t have to there too many years before you realise someone somewhere will lose their power every winter.
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From the BBC reporting of Storm Ciaran:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-67285052
That fuel advice for motorists is presumably to have plenty of petrol or diesel on-board. It’s a bit difficult to have a fully-charged battery when the electricity is off (again).
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Mark; your post makes me wonder what will happen in places like Florida the next time a major hurricane threatens? Aiui the evacuation distances can be quite far and the chances of being able to recharge en route have to be low to zero.
Some years ago, during an emergency evacuation, Tesla scored brownie points by giving owners an over-the-air temporary software update that increased the range of their cars.
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Mike, you make a very important point. Betting the house on going all-electric is foolish for lots of reasons, most obviously cost and technical difficulties. However, so long as it does no more than cause significant inconvenience, it will be extremely annoying, but manageable. But when it starts costing lives, what then? And if, as the alarmists claim, severe weather events are going to become both more common and more severe, and if the west’s rush to commit suicide isn’t matched by the rest of the world, so that the alarmist forecasts come true, what then? In short, we will be right royally stuffed, and people will die as a result.
Far better, as we keep saying, to concentrate our efforts, more cheaply and more effectively, on adaptation.
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Mikehig – your comment made me dig –
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/tesla-over-the-air-updates/
getting tempted to buy one!!!
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Here we go yet again:
“Hundreds prepare for third night with no power in Cumbria after heavy snow
Volunteers deliver emergency supplies as electricity company says power lines brought down across the county”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/04/uk-weather-drivers-warned-of-roads-becoming-ice-rinks-as-snow-refreezes
I’m guessing they’re not electric four-wheel drive vehicles.
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Nothing to do with a storm, but still a demonstration of what problems can occur from electrification and reliance on batteries:
“Passengers trapped on cold, dark trains as travel chaos hits west London
Faulty electric cables cause hours of disruption for passengers and many people are still trapped onboard trains”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/07/passenger-chaos-trains-brought-standstill-west-london
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“Fossil Fuels to the Rescue”
https://dailysceptic.org/2023/12/15/fossil-fuels-to-the-rescue/
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We are constantly being told that climate change will lead to more extreme weather, including more violent storms. If this is correct, it would seem to cast grave doubt on the wisdom of seeking to electrify all of our power sources, from heating, cooking and transport. Certainly this seems to be a common sort of news report these days:
“Thousands of homes still without power after Storm Gerrit”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67832471
If any of the poor people affected have been taken in by the relentless propaganda, and have a home reliant on an electric heat pump for central heating, an electric oven for cooking, and an electric car for transport, I suspect they may be wondering if they did the right thing.
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“Storm Kathleen brings trees down and power outages”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68746898
“…NIE Networks said about 750 customers have been left without power after high winds caused “a low level of damage to the electricity network”.
“Our teams are working to repair any damage caused and restore power as quickly as possible,” a spokesperson added.
In the Republic of Ireland, 12,000 homes, farms and businesses were left without electricity by Storm Kathleen….”
And yet the ongoing plans for net zero involve widely dispersed sources of “renewable” energy, which in turn require thousands of miles of electricity cabling to bring the electricity from where it is generated to where it is needed. The power companies are reluctant to bury the cables underground, saying its too expensive. At the same time we are told (whether rightly or wrongly) that “climate change” will increase the frequency and intensity of storms. It doesn’t sound like a well-thought through plan.
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It’s a good job net zero hasn’t been fully implemented and won’t be for many years, if ever, given the implications whenever we have a severe storm:
“Power still out for thousands after Storm Darragh”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgnng9vepqo
About 67,000 homes and businesses are still without power across Wales after Storm Darragh battered large parts of the country.
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You do realise Mark that if we fully implement Net Zero, then we won’t be getting any more severe storms and so we won’t be getting power cuts because of downed power lines. Huge relief. All our power cuts will be because we fully implemented Net Zero. And they will be ‘good’ power cuts, managed blackouts, via smart metering. You will get notice from the government that you are going to be cut off because there’s not enough wind or solar power and that will give you plenty of time to sort out the candles and the blankets. But at least we won’t have any more nasty storms and heavy rainfall! And summers will be pleasant and warm, not too hot. If you want hot summers in 2050 you’ll have to save up your carbon credits for 10 years to buy a flight to the Costa del Sol.
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Military Push for Net Zero Combat Vehicles Faces Backlash From Top Brass
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/12/08/military-push-for-net-zero-combat-vehicles-faces-backlash-from-top-brass/
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Welcome to a miserable net zero future:
“People will die in storm power cuts, councillor says”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjgy32z1l4o
People “are going to freeze to death” due to a lack of heating after several days without power following Storm Darragh, a councillor has said.
Iwan Ward, a councillor for Boncath and Clydau in Pembrokeshire, said residents had been without power since 02:00 GMT on Saturday and warned it would not come back until 22:00 on Thursday.
Thousands of people are still without power three days after the storm hit....
…Ward said people were going to die “not directly because of the storm, because of the lack of electricity, the lack of heat and then lack of food”.
“We need priorities for hospitals, schools anything like that but we’ve also got people out in the countryside who are freezing to death, I’m sad to say,” he said.
“People are going to freeze to death, it saddens me to say it but I fear it’s going to happen and we need things in place.”…
How much worse would it be in a net zero UK where we all have to rely on electricity for cooking and heating (and for driving)?
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“Storm Darragh showed me how unprepared my family – and Britain – are for disaster
After just 12 hours without power, we were cold, isolated and facing the fact that everyday life is far more precarious than it seems”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/10/storm-darragh-power-cuts-britain
It was the cold that woke me up. Some time in the early hours of Saturday, as Storm Darragh blasted through our bit of rural Oxfordshire, the power lines had come down; by the time the central heating would otherwise have been firing up, the house was decidedly arctic.
The novelty of lighting candles, chopping firewood and making coffee on a sputtering camping stove carried everyone through the first few hours. But by mid afternoon frontier spirit was palpably waning, along with everyone’s phone batteries. By early evening there wasn’t much to do except agree that obviously we have it easy compared with Ukraine – now in its third icy winter of Russia using attacks on domestic power infrastructure as an extra weapon of war, which puts this minor domestic inconvenience into perspective – and that our digitised lives have become quite madly, recklessly vulnerable to a sudden loss of power.
Nothing feels as dumb as smart tech in a blackout. Overnight we lost not only light, heat and the ability to do anything from bank transactions to checking email on the apps I normally use, but temporarily we also lost connection to the outside world. (Mobile signal only works at the end of our rural lane when boosted by the wifi hub, 4G is wildly patchy and even our old-school cordless landline dies without power.) Life, in short, went analogue. Though we were thankfully reconnected on Saturday night, as of Monday morning 100,000 households had gone two nights and counting without power – no joke for the old, frail or ill-prepared.…
Reading those opening paragraphs, I briefly thought that reality had broken out at the Guardian, and that the article would go on to warn about the dangers of a net zero future where a power cut can render our electricity-dependent lives cold, hungry and powerless in all senses of the word. I should have known better. Here’s the concluding paragraph:
…Though the capacity to stay warm, fed and vaguely aware of what’s happening in the outside world is never a bad thing in a crisis, dragging some ancient camping gear down from the loft isn’t really about being physically prepared. It’s more about mentally adjusting to the idea that the world is once again more precarious than it looks, and that even the most boring aspects of everyday life can’t simply be taken for granted. I just hope that in the parts of government that are meant to be listening to the likes of Emma Pinchbeck, the same penny has dropped.
It seems the answer is to spend more timing heeding the advice of the Climate Change Committee (yes, the Climate Change Committee that wants us to become dependent on unreliable “renewably”-generated electricity for pretty much all of our needs). Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
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“Power cuts and schools shut as Storm Éowyn hits”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clye82jlngko
Thousands of people are without power and 45 schools will remain closed on Friday as Storm Éowyn brings severe gales.
And still the powers that be want us to be reliant on electricity for everything.
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The post-storm outages continue:
“Over 100,000 homes still without power in NI after Storm Éowyn”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3e1zvxz5p9o
It’s an issue here in Cumbria, too. Many homes here are without power, and the number seems to be going up, not down. My critique is not of the heroes who were working last night in appalling conditions (cold, dark, very heavy rain) to try to restore power, but of crazy politicians who want us to be dependent on electricity for almost everything. What happens when the power goes off and stays off for extended periods (whether because of a dunkelflaute or a storm)?
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And not forgetting the problems in Scotland:
“Storm Éowyn: Travel and power problems to continue”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d501g15v3o
…Some of the more than 40,000 people without power in Scotland may have to wait several days before it is restored.
As of 16:00 on Saturday, about 28,000 Scottish Power customers were without power and, as of 16:30, about 14,500 Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) customers.
SSEN said it had restored power to about 75,300 customers, and Scottish Power to about 192,000, all of whom had been cut off because of the storm.
Scottish Power said there were still issues with repair work in certain areas because of high winds, snow, ice and debris.
It said nearly 200,000 properties have been affected since the storm began, and has taken more than 52,000 calls so far, about a month’s worth of calls in a single day….
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Mark, like many systems, power systems are most robust when they have more than one string to their bow (if you will excuse my mixed metaphor): electricity, gas (mains and bottled), water power, dry wood, candles, electric batteries (from tiny to huge), etc.
Electric monoculture is as inappropriate as university monoculture (as I have recently remarked on another thread). The politicians do appear to be stupid … but are they largely captured by the group-think that infests our public square in the UK (although the outlook in the USA may be somewhat more open)? Regards, John C.
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“Effort to restore power is ‘extremely challenging'”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr46eg04gd5o
A mother from County Londonderry has said she is concerned for the health of her six-year-old son Jace, who has cystic fibrosis, as she remains without power for a fourth day following Storm Éowyn.
Terri Lee-Watson from Limavady said the power cut, which began on Friday, was a “novelty” at the beginning, but now she is concerned the cold temperature will negatively affect her son.
“The coldness can be really detrimental to his health,” she told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.
“A cold could sit on his chest and give him a chest infection.”
The first and deputy first ministers have called for Northern Ireland’s electricity distribution company to “step up” and provide compensation as 50,000 properties remain without electricity.
Specialist engineers have arrived from England to help restore power, but Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has warned it could be 3 February before all properties are reconnected….
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“Over 2,000 homes still without power after storm”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0j7meyxyvo
More than 2,000 Scottish households are still without power, days after Storm Éowyn hit Scotland, damaging property and infrastructure.
Scottish Power Energy Networks, which supplies central and southern Scotland, said 1,908 customers were still without power with engineers from both companies working to return power to affected properties.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it was still working to restore electricity supply to 240 customers who lost power due to storm damage....
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A social media comment I picked up from the Communities B4 Power Companies Facebook page:
2nights and 3 days without electricity turned half of Ireland back to the stone ages. Electric cars, digital currency, our smart phones became obsolete overnight. Open fires, ranges and gas hobs were the only sources of heat , which a lot of people don’t have. I was lucky, I could heat water and cook on my open fire. I have a lot of friends whose only source of heat was candles and living on sandwiches. This is what happens when our homes, heating , cars and money are completely reliant on electric, it gets turned of and your whole world stops and now the shops want cash but the cash machines don’t work…
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“Six days without power has been absolutely awful – mother of five”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwypn42wwxvo
A County Antrim mother-of-five who remains without power for a sixth day after Storm Éowyn has said it has been “absolutely awful”.
Nicola Graham, from Ballymena, and her children aged between eight months and 12-years-old have been “surviving with headlamps and candles” since a tree fell on their power line on Friday.
It comes as a fence surrounding a Stewartstown preschool in County Tyrone, became electrified after live powerlines fell on it during the storm.
Homes have been damaged and about 23,500 properties in Northern Ireland remain without power for a sixth day after high winds battered the UK and Ireland last week….
…Ms Graham told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster she has to boil a saucepan of water over her wood-burning stove to feed her eight-month-old a bottle.
The rest of the family are relying on takeaway meals that cost £40 a night and “using the washing machine at shops”, she said.
“We are surviving with headlamps and candles,” she said, adding that they have to recharge lamps and phones at school, work and in the car.
“From 17:30 to bedtime, it’s awful. We are all sitting in one room trying to keep heat and trying to entertain children...
Welcome to the future.
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One of the lucky ones… with a stove.
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Mark – Makes you wonder why, if extreme weather events are/will increase under AGW, no one has factored the risks into the UK’s & Irelands race to be so reliant on electric. Your above quote sums it up nicely – “This is what happens when our homes, heating , cars and money are completely reliant on electric, it gets turned of and your whole world stops and now the shops want cash but the cash machines don’t work“
A old report – The human cost of disasters: an overview of the last 20 years (2000-2019) | UNDRR
Another from Jul 2024 – Temperature extremes and records most affected by UK’s changing climate – Met Office
Partial qoute – “Professor Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said: “This report is the authoritative annual summary of the UK climate published as a special supplement in our International Journal of Climatology. It not only helps to highlight the latest knowledge on our changing climate but also enables us to understand the trends, risks and impacts to help inform how we will need to adapt, now and in the future.
“The new analysis of days that are classified as ‘hot’ or having ‘exceptional rainfall’ highlights the increased frequency in high impact extremes we are already experiencing in the UK, and the attribution studies help to understand how human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, are making these extreme events much more likely to happen as our climate continues to change.”
Maybe someone should point out that when a winter storm hits the UK (which it often does), we never seen to learn, but dread the thought, those with gas,coal,wood heating/cooking at least have a backup.
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And still it goes on:
“About 11,000 remain without power in NI after Storm Éowyn”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2mpvmvnw9o
I would argue that’s a misleading – or at the very least, extremely ambiguous – headline, that could easily have been rendered immediately comprehensible by the addition of a single word. It’s 11,000 properties, not 11,000 people:
About 11,000 properties in Northern Ireland are still without power for a seventh day after Storm Éowyn on Friday.…
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And still it goes on for some unfortunate individuals:
“NIE warns of compensation scammers as 6,500 still without power”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1we9gl097vo
Is the BBC deliberately playing down the scale of the problem with its unclear and ambiguous headline, or is it just sloppy journalism? It reads most readily as meaning 6,500 people are still without power in Northern Ireland, a week after the storm, but the reality is:
About 6,500 properties [my emphasis] in Northern Ireland are still without power one week on from the storm.
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A glimpse of the future?
“‘No one knew what to do’: power cuts bring chaos, connection and revaluation of digital dependency
People share their experiences of Monday’s massive power outage across Spain, Portugal and parts of France that upended modern life”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/30/no-one-knew-what-to-do-power-cuts-bring-chaos-connection-and-revaluation-of-digital-dependency
“It felt like chaos,” said Iñigo, a doctor at a hospital in northern Spain.
With no electricity from noon on Monday, the building’s emergency generators were kept for the critical areas, leaving staff without access to patient data, broken communications due to no telephone signal or email, and colleagues unable to carry out some of their duties, he said.
The hospital’s backup generator was supposed to ensure surgeries continued, Iñigo said, but operations were forced to be cancelled due to out-of-order lifts and the inability to move patients around safely. “It made me realise we are so dependent on electronics,” he added….
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And they want to make us dependent on electricity for everyhting:
“Nearly 1,500 homes still without power after Storm Floris”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgyr3x14w2o
Nearly 1,500 homes remain without power in the north of Scotland in the aftermath of Storm Floris.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it had restored supplies to more than 70,000 households but that 1,470 remained cut off….
...More than 70,000 properties were hit in the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire, with food vans and welfare provided for families in the worst hit areas.
It said of the 1,470 homes still without power, over 1,000 were in the Highlands....
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Here we go again. It really isn’t a great idea to force us to rely on everything being electrified:
“About 1,500 properties remain without power days after Storm Amy”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cre54q28wrro
…At the height of the storm, about 65,000 properties were without an electricity supply after strong winds brought trees down and damaged the network.….
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The previous BBC story above referred to Northern Ireland. This one, a day later, is about Scotland:
“Engineers still working to restore power after Storm Amy”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rv65r76p1o
Engineers are still working to restore power to homes left without electricity following Storm Amy.
About 4,900 properties remain disconnected three days after the first named storm of the season hit the country....
Almost unbelievably, Jim Fairlie, an SNP MSP, posted this on Facebook:
The storm has knocked out our power in an all electric house, SSEN saying Monday before they can get it back on. Thankfully we’ve got the wee stove keeping us warm.
https://www.facebook.com/JimFairlieSNP
It was accompanied by a picture of a roaring log burner. That’s the SNP that proposed banning log burners in new-build homes before doing a U-turn following a public outcry:
“Ban on wood-burning stoves in new homes ditched”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqxwg3pjxleo
The Scottish government has confirmed it is ditching restrictions on the installation of wood-burning stoves in newbuild homes or conversions.
SNP ministers introduced regulations in April – while still in a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens – to ban new homes and buildings from using direct-emission heating systems including gas or oil boilers.
The rules were temporarily halted in September after concerns were raised that a ban on wood and peat burners would have a negative impact on people living in rural areas..…
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Mark – good catch re Jim Fairlie SNP MSP & thanks for the link. The comment below his post shares your thoughts/opinion –
“Paul Dunbar
Thank goodness for the wood burning stove as an essential back up during power cuts.
It would be pure madness for any government to attempt banning them.”
You have to laugh at/ridicule people like Fairlie.
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We have had a wood burner with back boiler installed to compliment our oil boiler all controlled by an H2 system as part of a renovation project. Hopefully will help if we get a repeat of -22c we’ve had in the past
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James S,
We have a log burner (though not with a back boiler). If/when we suffer power cuts (whether due to storms or to the failure of the people in charge to ensure that we have an effective energy system in the UK) at least we will have a source of heat and a modest amount of light. I wouldn’t be without it. Apart from the reassurance of knowing it’s there, it’s wonderful on a miserable mid-winter afternoon.
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JamesS – had to look up “H2 system”. Found this website – Green Hydrogen for a Sustainable Future – is this the system you have?
They have a nice message on that site, very apt since you have a “wood burner” –
“Trees for the future! 2085 – Trees are our most effective weapon against climate change. By absorbing thousand of tonnes of CO2 every day, trees can help to limit the rise in global temperature to below 1.5°C. We invest 0.25% of sales in tree planting campaigns from ECOSIA and invite every customer to participate by simple selection during the order process, including official certificates.”
I have no problem with your energy choice, but did wonder about the Hydrogen safety aspect.
ps – when you say “Hopefully will help if we get a repeat of -22c we’ve had in the past” where do you live?
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dfhunter,
I’m not sure where exactly James S lives, but I’m pretty sure from what he has written in the past, it’s somewhere near the Ochils.
Meanwhile:
“Storm-hit villagers told to travel 20 miles for hot meal”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c864xxx09zeo
Villagers who have been without power for days say they feel “abandoned” after their electricity distributor advised they travel more than 20 miles for a hot meal.
Food and fuel supplies have been dwindling in the village of Kilchoan, near the end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula in the Highlands, since Storm Amy struck on Friday evening.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) told customers it had provided welfare vans, but the nearest to Kilchoan was in Acharacle – a 50-minute drive away along a single-track road.
The BBC understands the road was too narrow for the vehicles organised by SSEN....
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I am now seriously considering getting a diesel/petrol generator & park it in the garage for the inevitable.
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PS – Mad Max movies popped into my head for some reason.
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Bit O/T but related –
INEOS cuts 60 jobs in Hull as UK energy costs and dumped Chinese imports cripple industry
INEOS to close two Rheinberg plants as Europe’s chemical industry hits breaking point
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ps – liked this quote from INEOS –
“60 skilled jobs will go as anti-competitive trade practices undercut low carbon UK production
Dirt-cheap carbon-heavy imports from China, produced using coal and emitting up to eight times more CO₂ than INEOS’s UK operations, are now flooding the market
Further jobs are at risk if the UK Government and European Commission do not support tariffs to protect its industry.“
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DF and Mark. I live in the village of Blackford half way between Perth and Stirling just of the A9. As a mark of IMPORTANCE we have Highland Spring bottled water factory and the Tullibardine Whisky distillery in the village. We also claim to have had Bonnie Prince Charlie spending a night in the village during his rebellion. Weather wise being so close to the Ochils we can get very cold and snowy spells i.e. 2009/10/11 winters with temps down to -22 and 28ins of snow. During sharp frosty weather after snow we get views of Ben Vorlich and over to the Trossachs to the left and over to Crieff and up to Schiehallion on the right lit up in the sunshine. Sometimes it’s not a bad wee place. We are in Spain at the moment so when we get back next week it will be all hands to the saws and axes to test out the H2 controller.
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DF, sorry forgot to add this website h2 panel.co.uk.
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dfhunter; I’ve had similar thoughts about getting hold of a generator but there’s a lot of hassle involved, aiui.
Unless the house is first isolated from the mains its circuits cannot be connected to another power supply because of the risk of feeding back into the local distribution which might be undergoing repairs. That means that each individual appliance, lamp, etc that is needed has to be connected directly to the generator – located outside – via extension leads.
I am leaning towards some form of battery-inverter combination to run the pump and controls for the gas boiler. That would keep the heating and hot water running and would not require any intervention, especially if a blackout happens when the no-one is home. Cooking is on gas anyway and LED lamps or even candles would provide light.
What an inditement of the state we are even having such discussions!
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JamesS,
I know exactly where you are. I have stayed overnight in Blackford to break a long journey south from the far north Highlands a few years ago. There are worse places to be. 😊
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JamesS – thanks for the feedback. I grew up (1950-70s) in Broxburn, West Lothian, living in a house with 1 coal fire & immersion heater for hot water so I feel your pain when -22 temps hit.
MikeH – thanks for your comment on the downside of gens. To be honest I’ve not done any research on how practical it would be for my house (detached 4 bed in a estate). So your comment has given me food for thought. As you say, more or less, what a sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in.
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“‘Storm Amy knocked out power for six days – it can’t happen again'”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2pz83kj1go
“It can’t happen again” – but it will. That’s the problem with wanting us to electrify everything.
...Anna McDonald, who owns the Eòrna Pottery studio in Kilchoan, said her business had been affected by the outage.
She said work on her handmade ceramics ground to a halt until the power could be reconnected.
Ms McDonald said: “I was unable to fire the kiln, I couldn’t throw anything on the wheel, both are powered by electricity.
“That’s the main bulk of my work as a potter so it had a huge impact.
“If it is something that keeps happening, it definitely will affect my business.”…
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It almost seems as though every named storm causes power cuts these days, as though nature is determined to demonstrate the folly of seeking to electrify everything.
Whilst feeling very sorry for anyone suffering loss of power, especially in the depths of winter, today’s BBC report on the power cuts is almost amusing:
“Flights, ferries and trains cancelled as Storm Bram knocks out power for thousands”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c75vq7q2v2nt
Tinned food and gas stoves will help keep you fed as microwaves, air fryers and some hobs and ovens demand electricity…
And given all the scaremongering about the risk of drought, and the Met Office long range forecast of a dryer winter than usual:
Heavy rainfall follows months of wet weather…
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“Tinned food and gas stoves will help keep you fed” – 1st hit Big Gas Doesn’t Want You To Know The Truth About Kitchen Stoves – Conservation Law Foundation
A snippet –
“How Does a Gas Stove Put Your Health at Risk?
Gas companies tell us that our stoves are safe, but that’s not completely true. Using gas stoves has been linked to increased rates of asthma in children. And, running a gas stove or oven for just an hour can raise the level of nitrogen dioxide in our homes above safe indoor limits all day. In children, this toxic gas can irritate airways, increase susceptibility to allergens, and cause learning deficits, among other harms.”
Granted it’s New England US & they need a big team, so stopped counting at 50 – Our Team – Conservation Law Foundation
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