>> They were warning about major brown-outs years ago because they were shutting too many coal/gas
>> plants too quickly to rely on green energy sources that weren't ready enough at the
>> time, and the couple of new nuclear sites that were planned o take up the
>> changeover slack were never built - we were warned!!
There were warnings/worries about meeting peak demand for the reasons you mentioned. I think though that would be something the grid's masters can see coming based on weather forecasts TV schedules and other known items affecting load across the country. There are industrial users who's supply contracts give a preferential price for having an interruptible supply and they are first to go if brownouts look probable.
It's unlikely we were anywhere near peak demand at 16:58 on an ordinary Friday in August. Output was matched to demand until two incidents, some reports suggest the second may have been a consequence of the first, caused a loss of about 5%. As the mains frequency began to 'wobble' power was selectively cut across several distribution companies to stabilise the system. The longest time people were off for was around an hour. Given it was daylight on a reasonably warm day that should have been easily endurable, not sure it's even long enough for help for folks on the Priority Services Register to kick in.
As I said earlier the real question is why it disrupted the railways to the extent that it did. Several reports though suggest passengers opening doors and walking on the track might have been a factor.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sat 10 Aug 19 at 13:16
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