Feeling Flat In Aberdeenshire

[Tom Bowler]

Thankfully events like storm Arwen are not too frequent, yet.

However, it does raise the concern about how useful an electric car would be when there are prolonged power cuts. I suppose one answer would be to drive to another region to charge up if you can go that far.

[Bill Fernie]

Charging electric vehicles is one threat but there are others -

The switch over to al digital phone calls when BT switches off the landline system. See https://www.lifeline24.co.uk/digital...ne-switchover/

Cell phones we already know had problems in places after the storm.

Many complained that the power companies contacted people by email but as they had no power they had no internet and therefor no email. If their router was of no internet so also their cell phone could not pick up internet either.

The storm has shown a range of weaknesses in our systems that were not there in the past.

It may not happen often to this extent but environmentalists and weather researchers seem to saying it will happen more often going forward.

Questions we may all want to ask -
Do you have a battery back up for charging your cell phone?
Do you have alternative heating?
Do you have a stock of non-freezer foods - cans, packets etc.
Do you have a way to store some water in case that stops running.

Most of these things are simple to do and do not need a huge amount of planning.

Let's hope that the power, phone and water companies look more closely at the resilience in the systems.

[Tom Bowler]

Having viewed footage of the damage to the electrical grid network it leaves me with one question to ask.

When will power companies realise that tall trees and power cables make bad neighbours ?

[badger]

Do the idiots who now control this country ever think of the problems caused by power blackouts? I don't have nearly enough backup - one bottle gas heater and one of those small gas hobs; plenty of candles. Kept my landline and old fashioned phone that doesn't need electricity but soon, as Bill says, we are to be deprived of even that. Will have to look into battery backup for the cell phone. Many elderly people, like me, will simply be unable to manage or call for help unless they have near neighbours. SSEN always remind me of the numbers to call if I need help but what use is that if I can't call? In a few years we will not be allowed solid fuel fires, gas or oil. What then?

[Neil Howie]

Do the idiots who now control this country ever think of the problems caused by power blackouts? I don't have nearly enough backup - one bottle gas heater and one of those small gas hobs; plenty of candles. Kept my landline and old fashioned phone that doesn't need electricity but soon, as Bill says, we are to be deprived of even that. Will have to look into battery backup for the cell phone. Many elderly people, like me, will simply be unable to manage or call for help unless they have near neighbours. SSEN always remind me of the numbers to call if I need help but what use is that if I can't call? In a few years we will not be allowed solid fuel fires, gas or oil. What then?

From petrol stations running out of fuel to electricity providers unable to provide electricity, it's been an incredibly bad year!