Blackouts.

nwtv2003 · Sat 06 Dec, 2008 16.08

Around this time last year we got a few power cuts and then onto "reduced power", basically when that happened the only things that worked were the lights, although they were on half their normal power, you pretty much couldn't use anything else, which was really frustrating, we also had one happen on Christmas Eve evening last year which helped when really couldn't do anything else.

Sput · Sat 06 Dec, 2008 16.31

How odd, do you live out in the sticks?

nwtv2003 · Sat 06 Dec, 2008 17.41

Sput wrote:How odd, do you live out in the sticks?

Nope, in a suburb of Warrington, so hardly middle of nowhere. It hasn't happened for a while now, although it only affected some parts of the town not others, mainly the South part.

Lorns · Sat 06 Dec, 2008 17.56

nwtv2003 wrote:Around this time last year we got a few power cuts and then onto "reduced power", basically when that happened the only things that worked were the lights, although they were on half their normal power, you pretty much couldn't use anything else

That is exactly what happened here Thursday. I'm not out in the sticks either. Glad i have a gas hob as going without a cup of tea and hot water bottle would have hellish.

Steve in Pudsey · Tue 09 Dec, 2008 23.07

I had a spate of very brief interruptions (less than a second) to the power supply. I emailed the distribution company suggesting they ought to look at making sure that in such circumstances it stayed off for a couple of seconds before reconnecting, because such short interruptions are unlikely to do hard drives much good.

They said it was due to a major cable fault and their systems were re-configuring the distribution network to try and isolate where the fault was... and buy a UPS

Gavin Scott · Wed 10 Dec, 2008 09.09

No such power cuts for me in the last few years *touches wood*. There's a pretty substantial sub-station near my flat, and I suspect it also serves both the Palace of Holyrood and the Scottish Parliament too - so perhaps its more robust than normal for that reason.

[/pure speculation]

Sput · Wed 10 Dec, 2008 11.34

Ohhh get you and your regal electricity.

Gavin Scott · Wed 10 Dec, 2008 11.48

Sput wrote:Ohhh get you and your regal electricity.

My toilet flushes with the same water as the queen's dontchaknow.

The similarity ends there, though. I expect she cleans hers.

Jovis · Wed 10 Dec, 2008 19.23

...whereas you pay someone to clean yours.

Dr Lobster* · Mon 15 Dec, 2008 18.39

lost power at work today at around 3:30 - it's destined to be off until 6:30 (surrounding town and villages were apparently also without power - bits seemed to be, but i don't go home via the backroads), but i'm just going to go in early plug everything in again (we've had some powercuts before and when the power comes back a few things have got fried... i really don't want to have my christmas holiday cancelled to rebuild a server)

it's quite scary that the phone system completely died, there was a dialtone, but no external line... i will speak to somebody about that, still at least i went home early... it's amazing how quickly the place went cold.

Ben · Mon 15 Dec, 2008 19.50

I can remember about 15 years ago we'd been suffering from power problems for a week or so. The lights would flicker and as the problems got worse the TV started turning itself on and off. By the end of the week it turned out that the mains cable out in the street was burning through.

Ironically our house was the last to avoid being cut off completely while they repaired the main so I got to stay up late, which was still a novelty back then. The next day when I stepped out of my house there was the bizarre site of a wire running to my neighbours house from the lamp post outside.

Just as the grass was growing back from where they had to dig it up, the gas main went and broke.