Discontent #8 food, energy, transport, cost of living, society etc

[Yel]

Created a poll to vote on the Liz Vs Jacob RM advertising campaigns:

Should the UK government pay for advertising campaigns to educate and encourage lower energy usage?

Background: The Times has learnt that No 10 has rejected plans signed off by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, for a £15 million public information campaign to encourage people to save energy. The campaign was “light touch” and included three central measures that could save people up to...

tattle.life

The Times has learnt that No 10 has rejected plans signed off by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, for a £15 million public information campaign to encourage people to save energy. The campaign was “light touch” and included three central measures that could save people up to £300 a year — lowering the temperature of boilers, turning off radiators in empty rooms and advising people to turn off the heating when they go out.

Plans to advise people to turn down their thermostats were dropped after health officials warned of the risk to elderly and vulnerable people. Measures such as turning off the lights and electrical devices were rejected because of their relatively limited impact. The government-led strategy was referred to internally as the “energy demand reduction campaign”, and would have included broadcast and newspaper advertising as well as promotion on social media.

Rees-Mogg gave the green light to the plans in recent days but Downing Street blocked them today after being approached by The Times, arguing that the information was already publicly available elsewhere.

 

[sleeptime]

Schools in England warn of crisis of ‘heartbreaking’ rise in hungry children

Headteachers and food aid charities say they are struggling to cope with growing demand from families unable to afford food

www.theguardian.com

Awful that children in a developed country (or any country) don't have enough to eat.

 

[Web30]

The thought of power cuts is just mad! My husband works in IT, thats going to cause major issues for bussiness surely.

 

[shadowcat5]

I can see why people are worried.
The media has so much to answer for. I was watching Jeremy Vine this morning and they did 2 separate segments on blackouts, mostly talking like it was set in stone to happen.

 

[Yel]

I can see why people are worried.
The media has so much to answer for. I was watching Jeremy Vine this morning and they did 2 separate segments on blackouts, mostly talking like it was set in stone to happen.

Lots of it is just ridiculous, no matter your political leanings all the papers are up to sharing the most shocking and scary stuff to get clicks. Ballance and truth are not wanted thesedays.

Will the gov spending money to run adverts to say you can save energy by turning off the heating when you're not at home really make a difference?

 

[Blond3g1rl]

The thought of power cuts is just mad! My husband works in IT, thats going to cause major issues for bussiness surely.

They are saying there will be power cuts between 4pm-7pm. Just shows how ridiculous they are being, as if they will turn the power off when businesses are still working

 

[shadowcat5]

They are saying there will be power cuts between 4pm-7pm. Just shows how ridiculous they are being, as if they will turn the power off when businesses are still working

As far as I’m aware the idea is that the power cuts will be then because too many people will be using electricity to cope with the demand. 4-7 is peak time, kids home from school, people home from work, evening meal is cooking, multiple devices running etc.

Someone on Jeremy vine made an excellent point. How many business/office buildings do you see with the lights on all night even when everyone has gone home… why can’t those be switched off to save electricity

 

[jackolantern]

The power cuts thing is just more scaremongering, no doubt to get people panic stocking up on tins and such again. These days I don’t believe a word that comes out their mouths until it has happened!

 

[Blond3g1rl]

As far as I’m aware the idea is that the power cuts will be then because too many people will be using electricity to cope with the demand. 4-7 is peak time, kids home from school, people home from work, evening meal is cooking, multiple devices running etc.

Someone on Jeremy vine made an excellent point. How many business/office buildings do you see with the lights on all night even when everyone has gone home… why can’t those be switched off to save electricity

The national grid or whoever it is, will not allow it to get to the point of power outages when businesses are still functioning. It would be catastrophic to the economy.

 

[shadowcat5]

The national grid or whoever it is, will not allow it to get to the point of power outages when businesses are still functioning. It would be catastrophic to the economy.

i agree but I’m saying, that was the idea behind it (not) going out at peak times

 

[Purrrrrrr]

Media lies and spreads fear everyone knows it and yet so many still believe it. Do you want to live a happier life? Switch off live TV and don't listen to the radio.

My mantra and has been for many years now. Its very very true.


When you stop watching what they want you to watch, you stop thinking what they want you to think.. Then you see a world that is nothing like they tell you it is.

 

[Fauxphiehinchcliffe]

what I don’t understand is how planned blackouts (say between 4pm-7pm) won’t create a surge of demand right before/after?

it may not be true but my dad used to tell me they used to supply extra electricity for ad breaks during coronation street because everyone would nip to put the kettle on! I know if I knew the electric/gas would be off 4pm I’d be making dinner and vetting kids bathed and house warmed up beforehand!

 

[Blond3g1rl]

what I don’t understand is how planned blackouts (say between 4pm-7pm) won’t create a surge of demand right before/after?

it may not be true but my dad used to tell me they used to supply extra electricity for ad breaks during coronation street because everyone would nip to put the kettle on! I know if I knew the electric/gas would be off 4pm I’d be making dinner and vetting kids bathed and house warmed up beforehand!

Exactly. That’s why it’s bollocks scaremongering

 

[Codiaeum]

what I don’t understand is how planned blackouts (say between 4pm-7pm) won’t create a surge of demand right before/after?

it may not be true but my dad used to tell me they used to supply extra electricity for ad breaks during coronation street because everyone would nip to put the kettle on! I know if I knew the electric/gas would be off 4pm I’d be making dinner and vetting kids bathed and house warmed up beforehand!

This is what will happen - electricity and water suppliers have had some of the best forecasting models for decades. They will scale up during football match breaks, before most people wake up in the morning, etc. So why wouldn't there be a need to scale up before a planned outage. Total bollocks.

 

[shadowcat5]

Okay I think I understand now (sorry I’m a bit slow), so basically there won’t be power cuts because there will be advanced plans for higher usage as there probably is right now for peak times? Is that right?

Cause I started out thinking it was a power cut and then I thought that everyone was saying they were shutting it off I purpose. I’m very confused

doesnt take much tbf

 

[pixxyy]

My Mum's on a WI trip atm so i've been trying to not use the Gas at all, so that money can be kept for when she's in.
She has COPD & they recommend for people with similar conditions that your House should be at least 18c
I've used 44p & 42p but thats mainly been because it hasn't been to cold.

So many of us Oodies etc will help but those with health problems the extra £400 etc i'm guessing will barely touch the bills

 

[Codiaeum]

Okay I think I understand now (sorry I’m a bit slow), so basically there won’t be power cuts because there will be advanced plans for higher usage as there probably is right now for peak times? Is that right?

Cause I started out thinking it was a power cut and then I thought that everyone was saying they were shutting it off I purpose. I’m very confused

doesnt take much tbf

An increase in demand shouldn't cause a power cut because of the forecasting models available, that's correct What some media has been saying though is that there could be intentional power cuts due to shortages, essentially forcing people that way for less consumption.
If indeed planned though and people are aware of such a cut coming up, most likely the demand in electricity would just shift to an earlier time in the day, before the power cut: people would try to cook, heat, get their washing down, charge their devices, etc. Very little would actually be gained by an intentional switch off.
It also doesn't make much sense from a stability perspective - while it might be different in the UK and Ireland due to being islands, in mainland Europe one country having a blackout can take down the rest of Europe with it, as the the countries' electricity lines are tightly intertwined. Yes, it is true that a big storm could lead to such a blackout event, this has been the case for years and the gas situation doesn't help, but I doubt that someone would add the risk of a planned outage on top of that. You need a lot of electricity to get things going again, often more than for pure maintenance.

 

[shadowcat5]

An increase in demand shouldn't cause a power cut because of the forecasting models available, that's correct What some media has been saying though is that there could be intentional power cuts due to shortages, essentially forcing people that way for less consumption.
If indeed planned though and people are aware of such a cut coming up, most likely the demand in electricity would just shift to an earlier time in the day, before the power cut: people would try to cook, heat, get their washing down, charge their devices, etc. Very little would actually be gained by an intentional switch off.
It also doesn't make much sense from a stability perspective - while it might be different in the UK and Ireland due to being islands, in mainland Europe one country having a blackout can take down the rest of Europe with it, as the the countries' electricity lines are tightly intertwined. Yes, it is true that a big storm could lead to such a blackout event, this has been the case for years and the gas situation doesn't help, but I doubt that someone would add the risk of a planned outage on top of that. You need a lot of electricity to get things going again, often more than for pure maintenance.

you are a star, thank you

 

[Sglodion]

Created a poll to vote on the Liz Vs Jacob RM advertising campaigns:

Should the UK government pay for advertising campaigns to educate and encourage lower energy usage?

Background: The Times has learnt that No 10 has rejected plans signed off by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, for a £15 million public information campaign to encourage people to save energy. The campaign was “light touch” and included three central measures that could save people up to...

tattle.life

The Times has learnt that No 10 has rejected plans signed off by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, for a £15 million public information campaign to encourage people to save energy. The campaign was “light touch” and included three central measures that could save people up to £300 a year — lowering the temperature of boilers, turning off radiators in empty rooms and advising people to turn off the heating when they go out.

Plans to advise people to turn down their thermostats were dropped after health officials warned of the risk to elderly and vulnerable people. Measures such as turning off the lights and electrical devices were rejected because of their relatively limited impact. The government-led strategy was referred to internally as the “energy demand reduction campaign”, and would have included broadcast and newspaper advertising as well as promotion on social media.

Rees-Mogg gave the green light to the plans in recent days but Downing Street blocked them today after being approached by The Times, arguing that the information was already publicly available elsewhere.

Someone told me vaguely about this earlier today and I thought it was ridiculous that a sensible sounding campaign had been blocked, but reading what it would have entailed it's such obvious stuff that I'm not sure it would be a great use of £15m really (am aware that's a minuscule amount in the grand scheme of government budgets, but still). If people can't work out for themselves that keeping the radiators on while no-one's home wastes money then

I recently saw someone on another site asking if anyone knew how they could disconnect the gas line to their cooker, in order to pipe the gas into 'some sort of container' so they could store it before the shortages hit... living in a terrace, tit like this alarms me a lot more than the potential for blackouts tbh!

 

[Blonde_moment]

Received my first credit from Ovo today (government energy help) of £66. Means I only paid £52 for energy this month, which is less than before all this started. Seems too good to be true, I’m sure my direct debit will be going up at some point soon. It’s going to be a shock to people when this support stops too, kind of feels likes it’s delaying the inevitable.