National outage

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No, but with dispatch-able load an ever dwindling resource available to the grid controllers, events like it will become more and more common.

Nozzle
 
Could of only been caused by brexit. Thought the remoaners would be all over this.
 
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Sorry guys. It was me. Didn’t have any 3 amp fuses for my clock radio so I stuck a 13 in! Thought it would be okay short term!
 
I think this is inevitable, as there is and increasing demand (electric cars, increasing population, etc.) and at the same time such things as coal-fired power stations are being closed and no new nuclear power stations have not been brought online.

Windmills don't seem to work too well when the wind drops! (Or even becomes too strong.)
 
So the reported problem seams to have been 2 power stations going down within minutes of each other.

Leaving little time to get another going.
 
The national grid operates lots of little power stations (diesel back ups or in the case of electric mountain, hyroelectric) which they call STOR (short term operating reserve) which can be brought on quickly and be up to capacity within 15 minutes to supplement generation. I believe it takes a lot longer to switch on a coal or nuclear station and to get it up to generating capacity. Where I live there are plans to build 2 or 3 within the area, diesel standbys or natural gas as these can just be switched on at a moments notice.

With regards future expansion and electric vehicles, I am reliably informed that the grid can handle the additional load at transmission level, and local distribution on the 33kv networks but it is the local lv and 11kv that will need major works. We have some streets running on old dc cables, the main is equivalent to around 16mm2! However the generation will be the problem too, I wonder more so with brexit, will it affect the cross channel links?
 
The other question that rail travellers would like an answer is.

Why were some trains unable to move when power to the overhead traction supply was restored ?

Rumour has it that train drivers were not able to reset the train's drive system. Not able or maybe not allowed to reset the system. It is said that technicians had to get to each stranded train to reset the drive systems.
 
One I didn't even know there was a national outage, did not see any signs that I had lost power, and two local trains still use coal and water to produce steam to drive them, only electric is for one automatic crossing gate, I am not sure of the procedure when power lost to gate? I would assume light on line would also fail, so the fireman would dismount walk to road crossing and wave a red flag when it crossed.

There could have well been a problem using a card for payment, and maybe the tea room would not be able to supply cream teas, but the trains would still run. And the driver of the steam train is trained on how to maintain it, so why is the driver of an electric also trained on how to maintain it?
 
D

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