Electricity supply and powercuts

[unlinkedstudent]

Only a quick half hour power cut today while cooking lunch. I hear that the lecky board give out free sandwich suggestions as they're sausage all use at anything else.

 

Mine has been going off and on for blooming ages but FINALLY appears to be back on now - ggrrrrrr. Apparently fault at main power station, estimated fixed time was 2 hours.

[JustMe]

When, and only when, electricity, gas, water, telephone and internet companies have to compensate users for each and every service interruption will people like the Hydro start taking security of supply seriously. Now I do not mean they get penalised after unusual weather conditions like a "100 year storm" but for everything else then why not?.

[paulb]

because we live 200 miles to the north of scotland. brief power outages can be expected when a fault occurs. we are lucky that they can usually sort it out within minutes or worse hours. sometimes there is no choice but to cut power.

[Spinner72]

It would be more sensible for all utility companies to extend their response times instead of the current trend of trying to repair them within hours.

 

This would have the combined effect of reducing complaints, reducing costs, and be less frustrating for the end user as you would know what the usual situation was (power off saturday night, you then know it will usually be fixed monday morning when engineers are back to work so you can get on with other things till then).

 

Get a 48 or more hours response time in the contracts then there should be no reason to worry about compensation either.

[JustMe]

because we live 200 miles to the north of scotland. brief power outages can be expected when a fault occurs. we are lucky that they can usually sort it out within minutes or worse hours. sometimes there is no choice but to cut power.

In many cases there is a choice. Better equipment!. As long as we put up with a third world service then that is what we will continue to get. We pay a so called "service charge" in our bills and if we do not get a reasonable service then we should be withholding the charge and demanding compensation. Was talking about this with a friend who lives in a small country town miles from power stations way down south and she cannot remember the last power cut as it is that long ago!

 

Target for the Hydro and other utility companies should be no outages. And until they achieve that perhaps they should spend some of their profits to provide people in areas prone to outages with free gas stoves.

[Spinner72]

Better equipment means more expense, and higher charges. I am sure many would much rather pay a lesser "service charge" and have a more reasonable repair timeframe, I know I would! I can barely remember the last time the power was off for more than a day or two, thats pretty amazing service for any utility.

 

If you get the feeling you are "paying for nothing" during powercuts etc, do remember that there are plenty of billing options. You can easily switch to the hydro's pay as you go option with no standing charges. That way if the power is off, you are paying nothing, so problem solved

[JustMe]

Spinner72 wrote

I can barely remember the last time the power was off for more than a day or two, thats pretty amazing service for any utility.

Oh get real. We are in the 21st Century and can do all sorts of amazing things like sending men to the moon and open heart surgery let alone having lots of cables carrying data across the Atlantic so it is not too much to expect that supplying a simple thing like electricity reliably to their customers should be outwith the technical competence of the Hydro.

 

Yes once in a while a contractor will dig up a cable or someone crash into a pole and I think the Hydro should compensate its customers for lack of supply and then claim the costs from the guilty persons insurance.

 

Do remember I exclude unusual weather. Things more severe than would be expected once every dozen years. But for everything else I would expect them yo weather proof their system.

[Spinner72]

Yes - a "gold standard service" like that is well within the capabilities of todays technology, and for that matter I am sure somewhere, there will be a company prepared to offer such an "always on" service for an appropriate cost. Moon trips, open heart surgery and sub-atlantic cables aren't cheap!

 

Most consumers, however, are happy to accept a relative compromise so as to provide better value for money. After all, people managed without any power at all only 60-70 years ago, so with all the advancements since then, they should have no problems being without it for a few days surely?

 

I don't really understand the compensation thing at all, when you have the option to go "pay as you go" to avoid the situation occurring in the first place, and since they hydro's standard domestic charge is 21.26p per day (inc VAT) it simply makes no financial sense to offer compensation for only a few days, as the administration costs would far outweigh anything owed, thus increasing prices for everyone.

[JustMe]

Spinner72 wrote

Most consumers, however, are happy to accept a relative compromise so as to provide better value for money. After all, people managed without any power at all only 60-70 years ago, so with all the advancements since then, they should have no problems being without it for a few days surely?

You have hit the point right on the head. 60 years ago people were used to unreliable electricity supplies and had lots of backups for cooking, heat and light. But gradually we have been converted to rely on electricity for everything.........not just the above but also entertainment and communication. Can live without entertainment but the rest surely counts as essential in this day and age.

 

Yes during bad weather we may expect to have the odd problem but not on a fine summers day. Equipment failure at the power station is not really the sort of excuse I expect to hear........except perhaps from a company that is making their equipment last as long as possible in the hope of getting an interconnector if the Viking Energy project goes ahead.

 

As for the "service charge" I was actually thinking of compensation on the lines of £10 for each and every power cut to compensate for inconvenience and another £10 for every hour the power is off. And that the end user should be compensated rather than those who pay the bill so that people charged for electricity by their land lord would be covered.

 

Must admit that the Hydro do seem to have done a lot to improve their overland cables in recent years but I fear that the actual generating of electricity has kind of suffered.

 

And just in case anyone thinks I am anti Hydro I think something similar should apply to water, mains gas, telephone and internet providers as well. After all train passengers can get compensation for trains being late.

[George.]

I'm going to plug in the alarm clock when I get to bed and set it for 6.00am. What's the bet I have a lie-in because the power goes off during the night

[hairyian]

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Networks/ElecDist/Policy/Documents1/SHEPD_NINES_CONSULTATION.pdf

 

This gives a lot of technical and financial detail about supplying electricity in Shetland.

 

As things stand, SSE could increase their profits by selling off the scheme, or simply walking away from it.

[enkelt skapninger]

In many cases there is a choice. Better equipment!

 

Which will come if the NINES stuff happens.

[Spinner72]

As for the "service charge" I was actually thinking of compensation on the lines of £10 for each and every power cut to compensate for inconvenience and another £10 for every hour the power is off.

 

I really shudder to think what that do to the price of electricity! More and more would just move away from it altogether!

 

Clearly we will have to agree to disagree on this, I find there are so many alternatives these days that constant supply of electricity, water etc is no longer near so much of a priority. Being without either for a day or two may be a minor inconvenience but nothing more, certainly not akin to travel delays etc in the context of compensation.

 

To me, to be compensated one must first lose something, like in the train example, losing connections and incurring extra travel costs etc. In the event of a power cut you lose nothing (or in some cases some would argue you "lose" the 21.26p daily charge, fair enough) as you haven't bought it in the first place.

 

As always, each to their own. I just hope the "quite reliable yet economical" option stays with us

[unlinkedstudent]

In the event of a power cut you lose nothing (or in some cases some would argue you "lose" the 21.26p daily charge, fair enough) as you haven't bought it in the first place.

 

 

I feel this is a rather naive comment to make. The combination of losing electricity and previously internet results in me working crazy hours to meet deadlines thus attempting to placate clients - it is all well and good saying delays may occur due to power cuts, etc., beyond my control but clients want a reliable service. They cannot understand why such outages occur.

[Spinner72]

^^ My apologies for not making it clear, but I was only referring to domestic properties.

 

Obviously things are different for businesses, hospitals etc and as such the option to have a more reliable service, or an contract which offers compensation for loss of any relevant utility, or insurance to cover backup facilities, is desirable if not essential.