Power cuts - are you prepped?

www.amazon.co.uk/s?ref=choice_dp_b&k=heat+pad+for+guinea+pigs&tag=gransnetforum-21

These work well and stay hot (once warmed in the microwave ) overnight. This one is £15ish but some are being offered at prices rising to £60.00.

Glad Margiknot mentions the ventilation for heaters I was thinking the same thing when so many were mentioning them. I personally wouldn't want to risk one of those so would try other ways to keep warm.

Absolutely nobody is making me panic. I was brought up to have cupboards full of food and 'emergency' measures in place on a 'just in case' basis. It is the way I have always been and always will be. My mother called it good housekeeping. Other people prefer to buy food as they need it and wait and see what happens when it comes to 'emergencies'. It's just a different approach, and neither is right or wrong.

We had the same bossiness during Covid - people like me who always have 3 bags of pasta and a family pack of loo roll in each loo were getting told what to do then, too. There's no need to get infuriated. If something is in short supply, it's rarely me who needs to buy it and contribute to a supply shortage - if I use it I'll already have plenty in, so those who aren't prepared needn't panic so much.

As I said upthread, it doesn't matter if the threatened cuts don't happen. Someone could cut through a cable, there could be a flood or a storm that knocks the power off for weeks - that happened recently in many areas. Being prepared with an emergency box isn't panicking - it's common sense.

These possible blackouts are said to last about 3 hours. We've got wind up torches and some candles but I'm sure we can go 3 hours without a hot drink or hot meal. There's always a cheese sandwich and a glass of wine. I do think that folk are over panicking. Ducking down for possible missiles coming my way.

www.google.com/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/uks-national-grid-doubles-emergency-planning-exercises-amid-concerns-over-energy-supplies-12679621

Read the whole article and stop worrying /prepping about power cuts. It infuriates me that you are making others panic for no reason at all. Heaven help us when Atomic Energy update their EP procedures you will all be digging bunkers in the garden ?

We frequently have power cuts here so I keep a stash of candles/hurricane glasses, tea lights, torches /head torches and batteries etc, We have a gas hob and a wood burner and I don’t particularly worry about cuts at the moment. We will make sure our neighbours are ok- we’ve all lived here for years so are generally well-prepped for blackouts ??
DH has a camping stove and gas, I have bought a camping lantern as dd has our old one.
We should be absolutely fine; if there’s warning then I will fill vacuum flashes with boiling water and hot soup as well as hot water bottles.
Cup of soups are really useful too.

I now realise I need to be better prepared as we are all electric. I do have lots of battery operated lights and a big torch. What happens to our freezers if the cuts are longer than 3 hours. Panic mode coming on.

I doubt I’ll be using real candles - too risky. I’ll keep plenty of batteries charged up for electric ones.

All this prepping, buying ‘stuff’, many are struggling anyway and just can’t afford to buy all of these items. I’ll be donating a bit more to food banks and others in need.

Yup. Wind up radio, torches calor gas stove hearty soups. People with disabilities/health conditions can register
Disability Energy Support for priority assistance. Several suppliers offer support. Worth doing, I think.

Camping stove and gas
Head torch, other torches and batteries
power bank - always try to have it charged anyway
currently making and freezing portions of soups n stews
I suffered before in a power cut badly, it was 13 hours in winter, my building is concrete, turned into a fridge
never again

volver Blow the environment, are you serious? It's not being green that got us to this, it's being green that will get us out.

I totally agree. We must embrace all green energy.

Daughter has shown me how to use phone as a hotspot so that sorts a few things. I think landline phones still work in a power cut though I rarely use mine and incoming calls are usually unwanted except for a couple of people who only ring the landline!
I have a lantern for camping trips so just need not to pack it away in the garage - was planning to do that so won't do it now! Plenty candles and gas hob but will need matches.

Camping lantern ✔️
Candles ✔️
Matches ✔️
Torch ✔️
Batteries ✔️
Thermos flask x 2 ✔️
Cuppa Soups ✔️
Battery radio ✔️
Power pack - on order from Amazon ✔️

Most will probably not be needed ? apart from the radio which lives in my bathroom.

Of course I'm concerned, my point was we really don't want to go back to the dark ghastly days of the 70's . Heating oil petrol was a crippling price,my husband shared lifts with 3 others to go to work, if they drove on the brow of a hill they turned the engine off to save petrol. Interest rates were 15 % we could barely afford to repay our mortgage . Prices in the shops went up weekly, you couldn't keep up. There were power cuts all the time ,we bought boxes of candles and I hand washed all the nappies. Do we want our children to go through all that?

Blow the environment, I don't want to sit in the dark and the cold

Do you have children and grandchildren, Iwtwab12bow?

Are you not concerned about their future? There are other Gransnetters who are childless but I've not seen them posting anything selfish like that.

And that, girls and boys, is how the Tories get in.

Blow the environment, are you serious? It's not being green that got us to this, it's being green that will get us out.

I'm afraid I'm furious. This is 2022 and we are preparing for power cuts and high energy costs. Because the government and ,yes, I mean Boris going all Liberal and green and I do blame his wife for being a tree hugger. Now we all have to go back to the 70's again with strikes,go slow, 3 day weeks and it's us ,yes us who pay and put up with power cuts . I am angry, governments are voted in to protect us and anticipate what nutters and dictators are throwing at us. Blow the environment, I don't want to sit in the dark and the cold.

In addition to the log burner, logs, gas hob, candles, throws, cozy bed etc etc I also have audible books, kindle books and a few TV programmes and films downloaded on my iPad for entertainment.
Also batteries for the radio as I would hate to miss listening to my football team’s away matches.

Running our business could be challenging without power though.

happycatholicwife1

I'm sure local churches and others will be open with supplies and people to help make it thru some of those times. Please check your bulletins for info and ideas.

And if the they don’t?
Just be prepared! Don’t rely on anyone else if you don’t have to!

I'm sure local churches and others will be open with supplies and people to help make it thru some of those times. Please check your bulletins for info and ideas.

Thisismyname53 I was working in the City at the time. We had gas lanterns on our desks to work by. We had manual typewriters so were able to work quite well. We just got on with it... I think back then we took life as it came and just got on with it.

Having seen camping stoves mentioned, I checked them out online. The one I found, using butane gas cylinders, said not to use indoors. Carbon monoxide or other fumes? Be careful! I think I will get a wide-necked thermos for a stew or soup instead. I have candles from the 1970’s! Plus phone and power bank and all the gear from Arctic holidays. The latter kept me toasty at -20C so I should be ok…
I’m only worried about Mr Putin.

We had lots of power cuts just after I was married in 1972 . I didn’t see much of them because my army husband and I were posted to Hong Kong that winter . However my grandmother used to write to me every few weeks and kept me informed .
Apparently they used to use candles and play a lot of board games and card games to pass the time . I am glad I missed it though .

Oopsadaisy1

It’s like a battery for your mobile phone, you charge it up and then can plug it into your phone to charge that.
They are quite slim, mine was about £60.00 it holds it’s charge well.

£60? I’ve just ordered a pack of two for £13 from Anazon. I already have usb cables to charge the packs. Perhaps yours has much more storage but it seems expensive.