Storm damage… the morning after the night before.

[youngoldbloke]

This is something that will become more difficult over time as more landline phone services move to VOIP. I need my router on for the phone to work.

Exactly! We had absolutely no means of communication whatsoever. Local radio station thought covering football much more important than keeping us informed, advising us to get online. Their coverage last Sunday was abysmal

 

[T4tomo]

Watching from afar, its been a shockingly slow response by the power companies.

A major scaling back of preventative maintenance over the past years or so is to blame, obviously none of these power companies have been making profit and paying dividends during this period, so its completely justified. .

"Back in the day" trees near power lines were routinely trimmed back so when a storm came through they were mainly only dealing with failure to the actual power infrastructure itself not collateral damage from falling trees. and of course as there is less maintenance going on, you have less staff to dispatch to deal with the emergencies when they happed.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

3 days off and 30 hours back on and then off again at 5.25pm tonight.

Just back on at 11.25pm and we are cracking on with celebrating my 65th until around 6am.

Music way up loud, fizz flowing and rollocks to the foul weather outside.

66 here I come.

A belated Happy Birthday!

 

[presta]

A bit on the news tonight about people still without power after 7 days, but as I recall, people were without power for up to two weeks in 1987, and that was with linesmen drafted in from France to help with the work.

 

[ColinJ]

A bit on the news tonight about people still without power after 7 days...

I feel really sorry for them... We only lost power for half a day here and that was bad enough!

 

[hobo]

Watching from afar, its been a shockingly slow response by the power companies.

A major scaling back of preventative maintenance over the past years or so is to blame, obviously none of these power companies have been making profit and paying dividends during this period, so its completely justified. .

"Back in the day" trees near power lines were routinely trimmed back so when a storm came through they were mainly only dealing with failure to the actual power infrastructure itself not collateral damage from falling trees. and of course as there is less maintenance going on, you have less staff to dispatch to deal with the emergencies when they happed.

And the country wants to be dependent on electricity only running off a 70 year old electrical network.

 

[cougie uk]

And the country wants to be dependent on electricity only running off a 70 year old electrical network.

If you're in the middle of nowhere - you'd probably have a wood burner of some sort anyway ?

 

[youngoldbloke]

If you're in the middle of nowhere - you'd probably have a wood burner of some sort anyway ?

- it's not just heating, farmers have installed electric pumps for water. No mobile signal in many areas. VOIP telephone service doesn't work without power. New technology is very fragile. No real alterative to diesel for tractors and generators at the moment either.

 

[cougie uk]

- it's not just heating, farmers have installed electric pumps for water. No mobile signal in many areas. VOIP telephone service doesn't work without power. New technology is very fragile. No real alterative to diesel for tractors and generators at the moment either.

Couldn't you install your own turbine and solar panels too then ?

Presumably the heating is from oil deliveries ?

It's crazy to rally against measures to help reduce climate change and also complain of issues exacerbated by climate change.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I know every little helps but I can't help thinking that if everyone living in a isolated property in Northumberland installed their own solar panels and wind turbine it would make very little difference to global warming and climate change.

 

[MontyVeda]

... One is advised that one must use mobile phones for emergency. But what if your local phone masts are damaged?
...

After storm Desmond (2015) the mobile network went down with everything else because the masts are powered from the grid.

I recall we were (officially) without power for 5 days, but in reality it was a day and half with no power before the generator trucks came. They provided power to homes but not street lighting, however news reports were still reporting '60,000 homes without power' even when had a limited supply from the generator trucks.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Watching from afar, its been a shockingly slow response by the power companies.

A major scaling back of preventative maintenance over the past years or so is to blame, obviously none of these power companies have been making profit and paying dividends during this period, so its completely justified. .

"Back in the day" trees near power lines were routinely trimmed back so when a storm came through they were mainly only dealing with failure to the actual power infrastructure itself not collateral damage from falling trees. and of course as there is less maintenance going on, you have less staff to dispatch to deal with the emergencies when they happed.

North West Power have been utterly pitiful - 4 cuts (3 long) in 6 days.

As you say - if there is a tree that could fall and damage a line then cut the *loody thing down.

 

[cougie uk]

I know every little helps but I can't help thinking that if everyone living in a isolated property in Northumberland installed their own solar panels and wind turbine it would make very little difference to global warming and climate change.

Clearly it isn't going to be noticeable for the world - but if it's your house - it would make sense ? You're more out on a limb than most people in the UK. I bet they'd take other precautions to cope.

 

[Gillstay]

North West Power have been utterly pitiful - 4 cuts (3 long) in 6 days.

As you say - if there is a tree that could fall and damage a line then cut the *loody thing down.

The problem is from before you as people did not like to see power lines and so many were routed through woods because people did not want to look at the bloody things. So cutting own the trees in brazil is part of your problem so cutting more here won't help.

 

[bikingdad90]

I believe some of those still without power are in town centres/urban areas in the Durham area. Francis Cade is one of them, currently living at Jimmi from Attacus house.