If the lights go out this winter, you know who to blame.....
Spike
If the lights go out this winter, it won't be because we don't have
enough generating capacity....
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2008/10/another-bit-of-light-relief.html
Over the winter, as we contemplate the wreckage of our economy and
wonder where the money is going to come from to support our daily
needs, we can at least take comfort in an imaginative EU initiative to
save on electricity bills - power cuts.
According to The Times, that prospect has moved a little bit closer,
with the report that wholesale electricity prices surged higher
yesterday "amid mounting fears that the UK could face a supply
shortfall next month."
The forward price of electricity for November, we are told, hit highs
of Ł133 per megawatt hour, up more than Ł10 since Friday, when the
same contract was trading at about Ł122.75.
The price of power has risen sharply since National Grid published
figures last week, predicting an unusually thin margin between
electricity supply and demand.
Now, we are told, for the week starting 10 November, the National Grid
is warning that the margin of spare capacity could be as slim as 0.8
gigawatts - the equivalent of one mid-sized coal-fired power station
or the electricity consumed by a city the size of Nottingham.
The Times then cites Andrew Horstead, of the energy consultancy
Utilyx, saying: "The market is very close to its safety limit . In an
average week in March, the margin of spare capacity is more than 12
times higher - about 10 GW - rising to more than 16 GW in July or
August."
As you might expect, the National Grid is denying any risk of domestic
consumers facing blackouts next month, asserting that there is "a
built-in cushion of capacity below the stated safety margin."
However, this organisation has a history of making reassuring noises
even when the system goes belly-up.
Mr Horstead, on the other hand, is less reassuring. He reminds us that
the unexpected loss of a plant because of a technical glitch (as
happened in May when two major plants dropped out unexpectedly for
precisely that reason) "could expose industrial customers to the
threat of temporary power cuts". We will be very lucky if the
disruption is confined to industry.
Peter Atherton, a Citigroup utilities analyst, is also cited. He says
that the squeeze next month had arisen because a large number of
ageing UK power stations were out of service for maintenance - a
growing trend in the industry. Three older nuclear plants operated by
British Energy at Hartlepool, Dungeness, in Kent, and Heysham, in
Lancashire, are undergoing repairs and are not scheduled to return to
full service until the end of the year.
Then we come to the punch line. "European rules restricting the use of
some of Britain's biggest coal-fired power stations," says The Times,
"are an additional factor."
But no! They are not an *additional* factor. They are *the* factor. We
are talking about the Large Combustion Plants Directive here, which is
already restricting the output of seven major plants. By 2015, they
will close because it is too expensive to meet the requirements of the
directive, knocking out a vital 12 GW of generating capacity.
But in the here and now, the directive limits the output of each plant
to 2,000 hours a year (out of a theoretical 8760 hours) effectively
taking out three-quarters of this capacity.
This, admits The Times has "increased instability in the network by
reducing the margin of spare capacity and the ability of the National
Grid to respond rapidly in times of crisis."
--
from
Aero Spike
Jim.gm4dhj ...
"Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
news:bd9ee458shomoc5a0...@4ax.com...
>
> If the lights go out this winter, it won't be because we don't have
> enough generating capacity....
>
good I might save some of my £73 for lecy and £107 for gas if they would
turn that off as well ! .... how much do you lot pay per month?
..............
Spike
Jim.gm4dhj ... wrote:
Electricity £27.....Gas £36. Perhaps you should change suppliers....
--
from
Aero Spike
Jim.gm4dhj ...
> Electricity £27.....Gas £36. Perhaps you should change suppliers....
>
>
or the family ......
owners club@nicksplace.comco The Legend Returns
"Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
Miles too expensive for a Deputies salary, Spike!
For heating, Nick supplies me with a single candle which I huddle around
during those long winter nights. When it gets bitterly cold, he allows me to
light it...
And you think you've got it tough :-(
tox
Spike
"The Legend Returns" <trabant owners club@Nicks place.comco> wrote:
>
>"Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
>news:trcee45hf5or677n9...@4ax.com...
>>
>> Jim.gm4dhj ... wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
>>>news:bd9ee458shomoc5a0...@4ax.com...
>>>>
>>>> If the lights go out this winter, it won't be because we don't have
>>>> enough generating capacity....
>>>>
>>>> Aero Spike
>>>
>>>good I might save some of my £73 for lecy and £107 for gas if they would
>>>turn that off as well ! .... how much do you lot pay per month?
>>
>> Electricity £27.....Gas £36. Perhaps you should change suppliers....
>
>Miles too expensive for a Deputies salary, Spike!
>
>For heating, Nick supplies me with a single candle which I huddle around
>during those long winter nights. When it gets bitterly cold, he allows me to
>light it...
>
>And you think you've got it tough :-(
LOL!
--
from
Aero Spike
Dead Paul
>
> "Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
> news:trcee45hf5or677n9...@4ax.com...
>>
>> Jim.gm4dhj ... wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
>>>news:bd9ee458shomoc5a0...@4ax.com...
>>>>
>>>> If the lights go out this winter, it won't be because we don't have
>>>> enough generating capacity....
>>>>
>>>> Aero Spike
>>>
>>>good I might save some of my £73 for lecy and £107 for gas if they
>>>would turn that off as well ! .... how much do you lot pay per month?
>>
>> Electricity £27.....Gas £36. Perhaps you should change suppliers....
>
> Miles too expensive for a Deputies salary, Spike!
>
> For heating, Nick supplies me with a single candle which I huddle around
> during those long winter nights. When it gets bitterly cold, he allows me
> to light it...
It would make more sense to put a dummy load on the output of your tx and
use that to keep warm. You'd reap double benefit if you count hot air. It
would be a good tip for a lot of radiohams. lol
>
> And you think you've got it tough :-(
>
> tox
--
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/ // / _// __ |/ // / / ___/ __ / /_/ / /__
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owners club@nicksplace.comco The Legend Returns
<luc...@eternal-flames.gov> wrote in message
news:rhcfe4d253igr7hgm...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 4 Oct 2008 18:37:40 +0100, "The Legend Returns" <trabant
> owners club@Nicks place.comco> wrote:
>
>>Miles too expensive for a Deputies salary, Spike!
>>
>>For heating, Nick supplies me with a single candle which I huddle around
>>during those long winter nights. When it gets bitterly cold, he allows me
>>to
>>light it...
>>
>>And you think you've got it tough :-(
>>
>>tox
>
See Below...
> BTW The next few week's will be different. Vegetarian Oxo cubes are
> on special offer and I've bought few boxes.
Should go nicely in the cabbage soup, Me Lord :-(
tox
Slartibartfast
the wrong NG, unless the originator is a twat.
"Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
news:bd9ee458shomoc5a0...@4ax.com...
>
Ian Jackson
<Slartib...@Norway-Coastline.net> writes
>Can't find any reference to amateur radio in the UK here, possibly
>posted to the wrong NG, unless the originator is a twat.
>
Yes, another self-appointed, top-posting net-cop, who also is rude to
real radio amateurs.
--
Ian
Spike
Slartibartfast wrote:
>Can't find any reference to amateur radio in the UK here, possibly posted to
>the wrong NG, unless the originator is a twat.
What does your radio run on? Intestinal gasses?
Perhaps you'd like to try to enlighten the group as to why the
electricity supply is irrelevant to Amateur Radio.
>"Spike" <Aero.Spike@S&T.invalid> wrote in message
>news:bd9ee458shomoc5a0...@4ax.com...
>>
>> If the lights go out this winter, it won't be because we don't have
>> enough generating capacity....
>>
>> http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2008/10/another-bit-of-light-relief.html
>>
--
from
Aero Spike