Energy Matters Global and Domestic

[bobins]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That seems incredible, perhaps we should take those figures with a pinch of salt ?

[NewcastleFalcon]

Today’s the day when the Electricity Winter outlook 2022/23, and the Gas winter outlook 2022/2023 are published. Should you wish to read them yourself first hand, here they are

Electricity
https://www.nationalgrideso.com/researc ... er-outlook
Gas
https://www.nationalgrid.com/gas-transm ... r--outlook

Regards Neil

[bobins]

Another mildly alarmist headline on the BBC....

Homes face winter power cuts in worst-case scenario, says National Grid

(Hasn't that always been the case ? A worst case scenario could show that all the power lines are felled by herds of wild cows roaming the plains causing untold havoc. A worst case scenario could have all the sub-stations simultaneously hit by lightning at the same time. Worst case scenarios don't really prove anything )

"British households could lose power for up to three hours at a time this winter if gas supplies run extremely low, National Grid has warned.
The company said it was an "unlikely" scenario but added that supply interruptions were a possibility if the energy crisis escalated.
Cuts would probably occur at peak times and customers would be warned in advance.
But as a "base case" National Grid expects homes will face no problems.
Customers would be warned at least a day in advance about the power cuts, which would occur at times of high demand, possibly in the morning, or more likely between 4pm and 9pm.
They would be rotated so not all areas of the country were affected at the same time.
When campaigning to be leader of the Conservative Party in August, Prime Minister Liz Truss pledged that there would be no energy rationing this winter.
But the UK is heavily reliant on gas to produce electricity, with gas-fired power stations generating more than 40% of the country's electricity. It also imports electricity from Continental Europe."

More at the BBC : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63155827

I'm already future proofed against power cuts - I've not got a Smart meter so my meter can't be interfered with, I can go and fill up a couple of my jerry cans with diseasel and each one will hold (circa) 200 miles of range for my car so I'm still completely mobile, and I've got a lovely generator (or three) so I can keep the lights on at home

[bobins]

Jeez.... it didn't take Machine Mart long to jump on the bandwagon

Machine Mart Gennies

[NewcastleFalcon]

Today's Headlines
Electricity Blackout Warning This Winter (The i)
UK Warned it Could Face Winter Blackouts (The Telegraph)
A Winter of Discontent (The Metro)
Warning over Blackouts Return of the Dark Ages (The Mirror)
Rolling powercuts could put lives at risk (The Guardian)
Blackout Deal Sparks a Storm (The Mail)
Homes face 3 hour Winter Power Cuts (Daily Express)
New Advice to stop Blackout Britain (Wash your Grundies at Midnight) (The Star)
Gas Import Threat Puts Uk at risk of Blackouts (The Times)

Not surprisingly none plumped for
" Mild Inconvenience for UK households possible but unlikely this winter"
National Grid Winter Outlook 2022/23 for Electricity and Gas
Regards Neil

[bobins]

The headline: "Locals could face power cuts if we get a particularly strong wind and it brings down some power lines" doesn't have quite the same level of excitement about it, but we face that prospect every year.

It will be interesting to see if The Daily Mail runs a panic headline about 'Imminent power cuts likely as electric car owners rush to charge up their cars and put the network under strain" and then it actually happens - a bit like the made up headlines about possible petrol shortages which then went on to cause real petrol shortages.

The public are easily led, unfortunately

[Peter.N.]

I have a small diesel generator, much cheaper to run if using it for extended periods but cheap ones noisy. You can store the fuel though.

Peter

[myglaren]

Can you run that on red diesel/fuel oil?

[Peter.N.]

I would think so it's only basic Chinese engine. I had even thought of using 28 sec heating with some added oil.

Peter

[CitroJim]

Not surprisingly none plumped for
" Mild Inconvenience for UK households possible but unlikely this winter"

Why let the truth get in the way of a bit of good old sensationalism and shock, horror probe 'journalism' - I use the term loosely - the British press are so good at...

[Gibbo2286]

Quote for heat pump after junk mail leaflet arrived this morning Igloo energy.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Info from Offgem on the boiler Upgrade Scheme.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental- ... scheme-bus

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) supports the decarbonisation of heat in buildings. It provides upfront capital grants to support the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers in homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales.

Acting on behalf of property owners, installers can apply for:

£5000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump
£5000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler
£6000 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump, including water source heat pumps
£450 million of grant funding is available over three years from 2022 to 2025.

Regards Neil

[Peter.N.]

A heat pump isn't a lot of good running as it does on the dearest fuel you can buy.

Peter

[Paul-R]

Aren't they supposed to be so much more efficient than traditional heat production that it more than compensates for the greater price? From the depths of my addled brain I seem to remember that they use a third less electricity than if the electricity were used to simply produce heat.

That probably makes it about equal to burning mains gas I suppose. The devil may be in the detail of course. These are just figures worked out on a used Kleenex.

[mickthemaverick]

Presumably the heat pump only makes sense if you have solar panels with a storage system so running the pump is "free" ?