No, power cuts are not the end of the world. 

If we get power cuts on any significant scale I do however have significant concerns about the effect on wider society. It is now about 50 years since we last had significant power cuts on a planned or rota basis. 

A large part of todays population are simply unable to understand that a power cut means no mains electricity for anyone in the affected area for the relevant time. There seems to be a widely held and erroneous view that exemptions will be made for those with special needs.

Even some companies seem to be believe that rota power cuts will not apply to THEM. A lot of people will be in for a surprise. 

I have even met people who believe that some appliances would "have" to be left on for safety reasons "they would have to leave the heater on in babies room"  

Society is far more reliant on electricity than was the case in the 1970s. I recall many major stores remaining open during the 1970s power cuts. These days most would presumably close.

Rioting and looting are in my view probable in some areas.

So not the end of the world, but potentially serious. 

No, power cuts are not the end of the world. 

If we get power cuts on any significant scale I do however have significant concerns about the effect on wider society. It is now about 50 years since we last had significant power cuts on a planned or rota basis. 

A large part of todays population are simply unable to understand that a power cut means no mains electricity for anyone in the affected area for the relevant time. There seems to be a widely held and erroneous view that exemptions will be made for those with special needs.

Even some companies seem to be believe that rota power cuts will not apply to THEM. A lot of people will be in for a surprise. 

I have even met people who believe that some appliances would "have" to be left on for safety reasons "they would have to leave the heater on in babies room"  

Society is far more reliant on electricity than was the case in the 1970s. I recall many major stores remaining open during the 1970s power cuts. These days most would presumably close.

Rioting and looting are in my view probable in some areas.

So not the end of the world, but potentially serious. 

Yep back in the winter of discontent power cuts were part of life

But we don't use paraffin heaters  any more, and the local paraffin man's tanker has long gone. 

Z.

Zoomup said:

But we don't use paraffin heaters  any more, and the local paraffin man's tanker has long gone.

As a small boy, I was fascinated by the dispensing apparatus on the side of the paraffin tanker. Now I feel very old!

I could happily survive with a coal fire, but Mrs P who comes from hotter climes expects to be able to be cozy and warm whilst lightly dressed in a 100+ year old house all winter. Fetching and carrying the coal is just too much like hard work.

The only real solution is, of course, better insulation. You can stuff that in your loft or wear it according to choice.

Yep. I lived through the 70s as a kid and remember those well. My dad installed a gas fire, which was a huge boon as we had one room we could be comfortable in around the paraffin lamp. And we has stored hot water too from a gravity fed tank. Most people, including me now, don't have that with the popularity of combi boilers.

I would say, if we had a rerun of the 70s now, there would be a lot of swearing. A lot of people are not as resilient or resourceful as they were post war. And an AWFUL lot of new housing does not even have any fireplaces.

When I renovated my current house, I made sure the kitchen/diner had a coal/wood stove - that proved handy in the 48 hour power cut we had in the storms this year. But I was running the car to recharge phones, LED lamps etc which wasn't terribly efficient (or good for the car judging by what blew out of the exhaust on the first run after).

So generator inlet going in now. Will be getting a 4kVA inverter frame genny which will live in a little ventilated sound deadened "shed". Even if we don't get the hypothesised rolling blackouts, we get enough actual power cuts here of 6 hour duration to make it not a complete waste of effort.