FEARED power blackouts on the coldest days of winter could soon affect households across Britain.
National Grid boss John Pettigrew says reduced gas imports from Europe could lead to planned power cuts between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays in January and February.
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For the first time since the 1970s blocks of households in particular areas could have their supplies cut in rotation, to avoid the whole country being plunged into darkness.
While Pettigrew stressed this would be the “worst case scenario”, power cuts can happen at any time.
So, what can householders do to reduce the potential impact of losing electricity at a crucial time of day?
For vulnerable individuals or families with young or disabled members, it’s vital you stick your name down on the free Priority Services Register via your energy supplier – the company that sends your bills – and your local electricity network – the company that looks after cabling.
This applies if you have children under five years old, use electrical medical equipment or refrigerated medicine, are disabled or have a serious illness, or are living with someone with dementia.
Suppliers should give vulnerable customers advanced notice of planned power cuts and offer priority support during emergencies.
Some may be able to provide cooking facilities, hot meals or charge points to households who rely on medical equipment.
Suppliers must take all reasonable steps to avoid disconnecting you during the winter months, the start of October to the end of March.
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For the rest of us, there is still action we can take now to make it easier if the leccy doesn’t come on, either because of a planned shut down or a sudden emergency.
Creating an emergency blackout box that you can keep under the stairs or in a kitchen cupboard is easy and means you can be prepared for the big switch off.
Here we show you how:
1. Make sure it’s easy to reach and that everyone knows where it is.
Label it Blackout Box and put strips of reflective tape on the top and sides, so that you can find it in the dark.
2. On the top of the box, stick another label with the number 105 written on it.
This is the number to call to report a power cut in your area.
Also write yourself a reminder to turn off appliances like hair straighteners or irons that might come on when the leccy is switched back on and cause a fire.
3. Inside the lid, tape an envelope containing some cash. In a power outage, cash machines won’t work.
4. At the top of the box keep a heavy-duty torch with batteries.
Obvious, but a torch is going to be the first thing you need when darkness descends.
Collapsible, LED battery-powered, camping lanterns are useful for more room light.
Keep them in bubble wrap so that if the box is dropped, the lanterns still work.
We found a Hi-Gear LED Camping Lantern on sale for £7 at fishingrepublic.co.uk.
5. A hand crank radio/phone charger that you can simply wind up will keep you tuned into the world in a blackout and possibly provide old-school entertainment for the kids.
These compact beauties can also be used to power a phone via a USB port.
It won’t give your mobile enough juice to keep the kids entertained but will provide sufficient power to make an emergency call.
Amazon was selling a GREADEO Hand Crank Radio one for £27.90.
6. USB phone charger cable. If you are going to use a wind-up radio to charge your phone keep a cable in here and remember to update it if you change phone brand.
7. A basic Swiss Army-style knife will always come in handy.
We found a Victorinox Classic SD Swiss Army Knife on sale £19.99 at tanner.co.uk.
8. A small first aid kit is useful in case fumbling about in the dark make accidents happen.
Try to find one which contains an emergency blanket.
You can get a Travel First Aid Kit from Boots for £12.
9. To make the blackout fun for kids, add separate labelled zip-lock bags for each member of the family.
Add their own head torches, thermal socks in their size, and hand and feet warmers.
You could pop in something to keep them occupied, in case they haven’t charged their phones, like a small Rubik’s Cube or a reusable glow-stick.
We found a range of them on sale from £1.50 all the way up to £13 across eBay and Millets.
10. A pack of cards will while away the hours until the leccy is switched back on.
Stick in a rules sheet for three or four games if you don’t play regularly and to prevent arguments.
11. Use smaller cardboard boxes to keep loose items within the bigger box.
Label each, again using reflective tape, so you can find things quickly.
You can also add:
- Fresh batteries for your torches and lanterns.
- A whistle to signal for help.
- Tea lights for those times when you run out of batteries (we found 100 on sale at B&Q for a fiver)
- Matches to light any candles or tea lights.
Remember to tell your family or flatmates where your Blackout Box is and what’s in it.
Ask them to replace anything they remove.
Every now and again check your box is up to date.
Is the phone cable still the one you use for all phones in the household?
Have the torch batteries leaked? Is everything labelled clearly?
Now if the lights go out, you won’t be left in the dark.
