Reply to THIS thread
Start a NEW Talkback Thread
Talkback Home

Power Outrage - Rachael (22nd Feb 2022 - 19:20:06) SSE had a reported profit of over £1050.5 million in 2020 yet members of our community have been without electricity since Fridays storm. Despite the severity of the weather over the weekend this is an outrage and highlights what is going wrong in this country. In this day and age in an urban settlement like liphook this should not be happening. My sympathy to all those still in cold dark homes this evening

Re: Power Outrage - Steve (22nd Feb 2022 - 22:33:55) Whilst I share your sympathy with those still without power. We were only off for 24 hours and that was bad enough. Quoting profit figures without other financial metrics such as capital employed is pretty meaningless. The uncomfortable truth is that we as a society can only have the infrastructure that we are prepared to pay for. Presumably the only way that the grid could be made robust enough to cope with extreme weather events like last week's storm is to bury most if not all cables underground which would likely cost many billions. Thinking that SSE could or should pay to do this out of their profit is unrealistic

Re: Power Outrage - G (23rd Feb 2022 - 08:20:19) 'Urban settlement like Liphook'??!!! Have you stepped half a mile outside the residential area to see the terrain through which the pylons run?! Goodness me, what a pampered comment. Hats off to the courageous engineers out in all weathers keeping things running for us

Re: Power Outrage - dave (23rd Feb 2022 - 09:47:57) Privatisation is not working in its current form. I'm not advocating a return to state ownership but the harsh fact is that despite all the slick sound bites, mission statements and service pledges by the utility companies (and railway franchisees), they do not reinvest sufficiently in what are public services and are taking the public for a ride. Their principle concern is profit but this should not be grotesque when failing public amenities are concerned.

Re: Power Outrage - Penny Williamson (23rd Feb 2022 - 11:43:53) G Well said. Yes it is awful to be without power. In the 1987 hurricane we were without power for 2 weeks and phone 3 weeks. No one complained - we just coped as best we could. I had 3 children under five and having candles was a nightmare. We were lucky and had a gas stove and heated up meals for neighbours. Rachael. Your post is unbelievable - just spare a thought for all those workers working tirelessly to get our power back on in absolutely horrible conditions. What a pampered country we have become. We are so lucky - look at the recent landslides in Brazil to name but one of the terrible disasters occurring all over the world.

Re: Power Outrage - A (23rd Feb 2022 - 12:22:32) Yep, 2010/11 we had a fortnight long power outage just outside of Liphook but within the Parish. Snow cut the roads off & neither sainsbury or the CO OP would put milk or essential groceries by for us making the 6 mile round trip on foot in Snow to take our chances. It's nice to see the community now pulling together in the village but you don't forget the outlying places such a Bramshott/conford etc!

Re: Power Outrage - PR (23rd Feb 2022 - 12:42:54) Well said Penny Williamson. In 1987 we had no power or gas for over two weeks. Cooked on top of the now politically incorrect wood burner, and slept in front of it as well ~ with my dog as well. I think there is far worse to voice concern about.

Re: Power Outrage - er (23rd Feb 2022 - 12:44:06) 1987, gosh did houses even have electricity back then? I bet it wasn't as bad as we young ones had it. When our mobiles ran out of charge we had to rely on landlines. We lost Alexa and Siri. We had to go outside to the Merc to charge our Ipads, the kids gameboys, the emergency kettle etc, I don't suppose you had to do that in 1987! It was so cold we had to put on cardigans and wear blankets round our shoulders at times, ugh, how unfashionable is that look? Thankfully the kids weren't able to upload it on TikTok . We couldn't recharge the Tesla We had to order home deliveries for Saturday night dinner, pizzas, kebabs and crispy fried duck. To top it all off we couldn't even Facebook or Whattsup it to share our emotions with the world! Seriously, how about a little sympathy here please??

Re: Power Outrage - D (23rd Feb 2022 - 14:41:52) I agree with Penny, my leccy was off over a week in '87 (in the very early days of privatisation) but then (as now) I had my politically incorrect Rayburn to keep me warm and cook on and I didn't have a politically correct electric car which would have been as much use as a chocolate teapot last weekend.

Re: Power Outrage - Ian (23rd Feb 2022 - 15:35:40) Love it how all the oldens are getting uptight and bleating on about "the good old days" and have completely missed the point of the original post. She is not bleating on about any hardship or criticising the hardworking engineers, just making a point about the fat cat utility companies. The world has moved on since 87' but some of you haven't!!

Re: Power Outrage - J (23rd Feb 2022 - 15:44:28) To those saying how useless an electric car is with power cuts, you do know that petrol pumps also need electricity to work right?

Re: Power Outrage - Brian (23rd Feb 2022 - 18:18:07) In America electric cars are often marketed as practical rather than environmental. Adverts now show houses with power cuts being plugged into electric vehicles to keep the lights and heating on. One advert even has an electric vehicle being used to power a snow machine in the desert! Electric vehicles or even the battery technology behind them, like the Tesla power wall could be the means by which resilience is built into the network in the future. It needs leadership from government to understand that storms like these are likely to be a more common occurrence and build in the extra resilience required. That could be instructing power companies to place the most important power lines underground. Currently they appear to be only prioritising beauty spots. SSEN did send my vulnerable relatives a letter telling them to expect a few days without power. I also understand there was a food truck in the Midhurst road car park. Some can even claim for reasonable expenses like accommodation and meals out (keep those receipts). I can not because I was within reach of the food truck and my power was not out long enough to qualify.

Re: Power Outrage - D (23rd Feb 2022 - 19:39:05) Ian, in 1987 my leccy was off for over a week, this time it was off for a day. Therefore I would argue that things have improved under privatisation. To your point of the original post, is this gross profit or net profit? I suspect it is gross and out of this amount wages, maintaining the infrastructure, connecting supplies to all these new houses, and emergency repairs after storms are paid out. I really don't think it costs nothing to get electricity to my house before I pay for it. Puts a different light on it. As for people not moving on, you are the one criticising the privatised companies who restored my power over a week sooner than it was in 1987.

Re: Power Outrage - passfield resident (23rd Feb 2022 - 21:07:32) Battery technology must be at the stage where people should be able to have a back up battery in their house to power a couple of essentials for a while in the event of a power cut.

Re: Power Outrage - Anon (23rd Feb 2022 - 21:28:41) After the ‘87 storm we were without water for three days, electricity for nearly two weeks and phone for nearly a month, we just got on with it. Personally I’m still a Rayburn fan, no reliance on the grid, warms the house, cooks your food, heats water for bath time and you can pop your kettle on the hob for the best tasting tea with the exception of the Irish storm kettle.

Re: Power Outrage - Steve (23rd Feb 2022 - 23:27:51) I Don't drink tea but I am intrigued by the suggestion that it tastes better if the water is boiled on a Rayburn rather than by other means (presumably an electric kettle). Can anyone suggest a scientific explanation for this phenomenon?

Re: Power Outrage - D (24th Feb 2022 - 08:37:05) Steve, maybe it's the confident satisfaction of knowing your fire isn't suddenly going to go out without warning and not knowing when it will relight again. Last weekend shows the value of woodburners as a necessary back up in the event of power failure. Especially if, as other contributors say, the service is getting worse. Everyone should have a solid fuel burner, there's still plenty of coal in the ground. (Cue the environmentalists condemning coal while they belch out pollutants in the upper atmosphere from their several air trips a year.)

Re: Power Outrage - James (24th Feb 2022 - 20:47:20) D, do you listen to yourself? Absolute idiocy.

Re: Power Outrage - Steve (24th Feb 2022 - 21:53:57) Not very practical if you live in a high rise block D?

Re: Power Outrage - D (25th Feb 2022 - 07:21:25) Steve, I think you're just splitting hairs now. Are there any high rise blocks in Liphook? I really don't understand why you are mocking people who take the initiative to help themselves to cope during power cuts. Rather than just moaning about it.

Re: Power Outrage - Dave (25th Feb 2022 - 09:08:25) D, I don't think you are being mocked....just your bizarre and outdated opinions are being challenged. It's amazing how oversensitivity affects all generations, not just the snowflake ones

Re: Power Outrage - Steve (25th Feb 2022 - 13:34:00) Not mockery D. Just gentle encouragement to people to think before posting🙂

Re: Power Outrage - D (25th Feb 2022 - 16:41:01) Hello Dave, last weekend while others froze and whined I was able to heat my home, cook and have a hot bath. If that's being bizarre and outdated then that's fine by me.

Re: Power Outrage - Joe (25th Feb 2022 - 17:23:46) That’s called being smug and not being very thoughtful to others before posting. Not everyone has your access to your facilities. It is like saying “I can afford this and you cannot”

Re: Power Outrage - D (26th Feb 2022 - 08:43:21) On the contrary, Joe. I hung on to my outdated Rayburn and tank because at the time there was no way I could afford to have central heating put in, and after 1987 I was glad I never did. In those days you could get a decent Rayburn from the scrappy for a fiver, they had not yet become fashionable and desirable to the middle classes. May I refer you to Dave's comments of over sensitivity.

Re: Power Outrage - Penny Williamson (27th Feb 2022 - 19:15:24) Ian no one has said that Rachael was bleating (I thought only sheep did that). She was complaining that not enough had been done by the "fat cats" making all this money. Money/investment was not the problem in the latest disaster ie Storm Eunice. Overhead cables were. We live in an area where overhead cables transmit our electricity as they do in many, many other areas of the UK unlike in the big cities where there are underground cables.. There was no magic wand that could overnight rectify the damage wrought by the recent storms. It is no good saying that the whole of the UK should be serviced by underground cables. That would cost not just billions, but trillions even if it were possible. Acceptance and getting on with life as best you can in the face of adversity has nothing to do with living in the past or "not moving on" it is a reality. However I would say that us oldies and a large number of middle and young people are stoical, patient and understanding. It is the minority who want instant gratification and every demand immediately met. Ian, if that is what you mean by moving on then I am very glad I haven't.

Re: Power Outrage - Rachel Rabbit (3rd Mar 2022 - 19:56:23) As a vulnerable person, I get contacted by the power companies when the lights go out and offered a generator if needed. I think this is offered to all people like me thankfully! I still stock up on plenty of candles though. I do love a bit of candlelight. Only having Electric and no Gas though, means no cup of tea or hot water bottle.

Re: Power Outrage - Penny Williamson (4th Mar 2022 - 15:46:29) Just a suggestion. You could purchase a portable gas cooker online for as little as £16. That would make you a hot drink and provide a hot water bottle.

Re: Power Outrage - M (4th Mar 2022 - 17:11:24) Rachel, Not too sure why you had no cup of tea or Hot Water Bottle if you only had Electric? If you've a gas hob you can light most with a match and boil a kettle or, like I imagine most people, use your electric kettle? If you had just Gas and no Electric then, like most of us did during Eunice, use your gas hob (lit with a match) to boil some water ..... when we had water...lol! If you've no Gas hob and no Electric then I could see your problem. Perhaps I missed something? Hopefully you're all OK now?

Re: Power Outrage - Penny Williamson (4th Mar 2022 - 17:21:55) M I think what Rachel Rabbit meant was that when the electric was off as she has no gas in her house she could not have a hot drink or hot water bottle. ie she had no means to heat water. My daughter had the same problem. She lives in Milland where there is no gas so when the electric went off she had no means of heating water. She has now purchased a small portable gas cooker.

Re: Power Outrage - Rachel Rabbit (4th Mar 2022 - 20:56:10) Thank you Penny, exactly :-)

Reply to THIS thread
Talkback Home