makes you think...
Ah, the old ‘London/SE = Large swathes of the UK’ chestnut 🙄
Power operators for the South East, Midlands, South West and Wales said there was a "major incident" affecting electricity.
UK Power Networks said it believed it was due to a "failure on National Grid's network".
Power failures, terrible weather (and Boris of course) I’m not exactly looking forward to the holidays finishing and going home
In fairness it went off in Newcastle.
And not even all of the South East
In fairness it went off in Newcastle.
Aye, but that’s not how the initial reports were written. Becoming more accurate now though, to be fair.
Which part of Newcastle can’t say I noticed?
Which part of Newcastle can’t say I noticed?
The bit that has electricity Drac. Not the bit where you are. Just keep feeding the hamster.
I've been saying for ages that terrorists are getting it all wrong, running around a city with a knife, as terrifying and tragic as it can be, is futile. Infrastructure issues could cripple the country....
Given I live near where the first private house to get electricity in the world is that’s slightly ironic.
But regardless I’m not at home today I’m on the outskirts of Newcastle.
Power out in parts of Stockport too
Given I live near where the first private house to get electricity in the world is that’s slightly ironic.
Castle Frankenstein?
This one?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cragside
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/hydropower-returns-to-cragside
That’s the one. 😂
Yup IGM I’m mixed up it was the first to be hydropowered.
Newcastle and the surrounding area really is the cradle of UK electricity.
I mean London had a bit, but Armstrong, Mertz and the like - impressive.
They're probably practicing shutting down the grid ready for Oct 31st and Brexit day. I think we all get issued with stone age tools so won't be needing electricity anymore...
Yup including lightbulbs before America claimed it.
That’s why I always laugh when southerners make jokes about that we only just got electricity.
Huh! Had my powercut over a week ago. It was just my road, we were out from half 7 til after 3am.
Bike lights are a handy item to have in the house.
I’ve been saying for ages that terrorists are getting it all wrong, running around a city with a knife, as terrifying and tragic as it can be, is futile. Infrastructure issues could cripple the country….
Die Hard 4 style. Wouldn't take long - most infrastructure in the UK is running about 95+% capacity most of the time, there's not a right lot of leeway before it all falls over.
cyber-attack ?
SEIA bill, inspired by the 2015 cyber-attack on Ukraine's power grid, passes Senate.
US wants to isolate power grids with 'retro' technology to limit cyber-attacks
most infrastructure in the UK is running about 95+% capacity most of the time
That’s the smart grid dream.
Presently it’s probably nearer 30% to 60% on the electricity network depending on how you count it. Of course there are reasons why that’s a good utilisation. And why some smart grid stuff will take us beyond that.
Of course the 99.99% availability that you get from an average electricity supply is something we have grown used to.
When the lights do go out it’s not fun - but spare a thought for my colleagues who are out in all weathers, floods, gales, snow storms, getting them back on.
Around 1989-90, the IRA damaged the North Circular bridge over the end of the M1. It was traffic chaos for weeks around the area.
If they had also targeted the M4/M25, M23/M25 and A2/M20/M25 then large parts of the South East would be grid locked.
Traffic has got worse since. However , that would really P-off millions of people for weeks, so it'd do nothing for their cause.
However , that would really P-off millions of people for weeks, so it’d do nothing for their cause.
I think you might be misunderstanding the point of terrorism
Infrastructure seems to a very obvious target, I'm assuming the powers that be know this and have plans in place 🤞
`Electric car owners all putting them on charge at the same time...
However , that would really P-off millions of people for weeks, so it’d do nothing for their cause.
I think you might be misunderstanding the point of terrorism
Indeed, I reckon blowing people up pissed a lot of people off too.
https://theenergyst.com/national-grid-two-generators-cause-big-frequency-drop/
Interesting background reading.
I know the guy in that pic 🙂 Listening with interest to R4 Today programme - National Grid boss on there in a min with John Humphrys.
Quite alarming that there was apparently no backup power for the lighting in parts of the tube network (or if there was, it took a significant amount of time to come on).
Even our shitty old office has a bunch of LED escape lights with batteries inside that automatically come on the instant there's a power outage.
I wonder if offshore wind tripped due to the high winds? UK Wind graphed here
Higher amounts of offshore power at other times of the day but I guess gust speed is important.
^ that article is interesting and clear as to why.
I know Scotland runs on renewable energy regularly. Does this mean we have more of this 'synthetic frequency generation' in-built already via Cruachan or other devices?
All I can say is think yourselves lucky the power was back on in hours, if the grid had collapsed up here we could have been looking at up to a week starting up on imports.
Now, something something baseload, something something grid stability. This is why replacing everything with renewables, at this stage, is not a viable proposition. Cruachan wil probably be used to smooth out but if it really went to pot we have nothing to restart ourselves.
squirrelking - just a shame westminster blocked the Scottish governments plans to have blackstart capacity. Unfortunatly without strategic planning then this sort of incident will continue to get more frequent. Power should be a state monopoly
TJ - got a link? I've never heard anything about the SG having anything blocked.
I had a tour around ratclife power station not long ago, they can "cold start" from no power (aparrently not all can), room after room of lead acid batteries as a last resort.
I didnt realise the national grid buy the electricity from the power station, Fasinating place could have walked around for hours.
Yes security was high.
Today will be squeaky bum time for managers at Ipswich General Hospital - let's hope ventilators had well charged back-up batteries.
Shows how tightly things are run when a wind farm and a single gas powered generator can lead to network instability.
My father-in-law was the commissioning engineer on the first extension lead to all that French nuclear power.
TJ, National Grid ESO have an ongoing review of Black Start requirements vs capability across the uk as a result of the loss of all of the old thermal generation.
I’m not aware of Scotland being locked out at all, is that what you meant or was a black-start contract perhaps a life-line for a specific uneconomical power station?
I had a tour around ratclife power station not long ago, they can “cold start” from no power (aparrently not all can), room after room of lead acid batteries as a last resort.
Black start is generally provided by old aero derivative gas turbines that can be started from cold really quickly. Olympus at Ratcliffe IIRC, what Concorde had. The back up batteries are to provide just enough power to drive the most critical infrastructure, oil pumps and turning gear for the steam turbines mainly. If they come to rest from hot with no lubricant all the bearings are knackered and the shafts thermally bend dur to uneven cooling. If they don't catch fire first.
TJ, National Grid ESO have an ongoing review of Black Start requirements vs capability across the uk as a result of the loss of all of the old thermal generation.
I’m not aware of Scotland being locked out at all, is that what you meant or was a black-start contract perhaps a life-line for a specific uneconomical power station?
Scottish government wanted to build two fast spin up gas generators as reserve for the renewables - they would also provide blackstart capacity. Westminster made it impossible for them to do so. these were to be replacements for longgannet and cockenzie. Now those two have shut but no replacements been built then scotland no longer has blackstart capacity.
along with the ridiculous rigged grid access charges this was deliberately done to ensure that scottish power generation could not stand alone. We used to export a lot of electricity to England - now its less.
The scottish governments had well developed plans for this. IIRC Westminster went to court to prevent the Scottish government raising funds to pay for this and the rigged access charges along with the scottish governments inability to subsidise means no commercial vernture will build these power stations
I would actually like it to be one gas and one biomass - the biomass being built on the west coast in the Clyde estuary somewhere - we must have 20 years worth of crap sitka to burn and that 20 years gives enough time for native tree farms to be set up to provide biomass and most of the wood could be transported by sea!
Scotland’s energy issues are as much the fault of the SNP as Westminster.