robin Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 East Midlands Electricity (or Central Networks as they are now known) have decided that next Sunday is the perfect day to cut off the electricty to our neighbourhood betweeen 09:00 and 16:00. Oh yes I have registered a complaint with Energywatch, but that is another story. So who's going to be sitting snug and warm in the motorhome in the front drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Better make sure the battery is fully charged, the water tank filled and the gas bottles connected and full, then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted December 6, 2006 Author Share Posted December 6, 2006 Brian Kirby - 2006-12-06 5:10 PM Better make sure the battery is fully charged, the water tank filled and the gas bottles connected and full, then! Oh yes, and the drinks cabinet well stocked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madguy4 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 i bought one of little generators from Collins cash and carry for £50..ideal...use it every weekend for the toaster and heater....perfick..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 robin - 2006-12-06 5:20 PM Oh yes, and the drinks cabinet well stocked! Robin, can we bring ours over too? We'll put up an awning, turn down the fridge, turn up the music and start the world's first "power-cut rally"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 East Midlands Electricity (or Central Networks as they are now known) Sounds more like Central Notworks ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 We regulary used to get power cuts, often went out to van to make a cup of tea, several times I've had to finish cooking a meal in van, nowadays we don't often get a power cut, more convient but miss the smugness of being able to carry on whilst nabours struggled with torches and candles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I don't quite see what you're complaining about here. Firstly Central Networks have given you notice that they have to cut off your supply temporarily, this gives you ample time to sort out alternatives. Secondly I think you'll find that the 09.00 to 16.00 times listed in your letter are the outer limits that they expect the works to run to, they usually take a lot less time to sort out the problem. The alternatives to this aren't so good; they cut off your supply without warning and leave it off for a very long period. Personally I'm quite happy to receive a notification like this as it allows me to sort out alternatives for powering the fridge/freezer etc. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixter Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Dave Newell - 2006-12-07 8:37 AM Personally I'm quite happy to receive a notification like this as it allows me to sort out alternatives for powering the fridge/freezer etc. D. I guess that Central Networks have a perfectly good reason to cut off the power, and I'm sure that you Dave, are more than competent to sort out an alternative source of power for your household. But I do have sympathy for the little old lady who may live around the corner from you, or the young mum with a couple of toddlers... But despite all this, I agree it is very nice to have the option to get out in your van...if ever anarchy should reign and everything collapse around our ears, at least we could survive for a week or so longer than our neighbours. Do you remember that bunch of nutty RV-ers in the Mad Max film...we would end up like them! Vixter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 "But I do have sympathy for the little old lady who may live around the corner from you, or the young mum with a couple of toddlers..." Me too Vixter but its still better to be told in advance that there will be a power down period rather than it all just goes off. This seems very similar to the problems with our motorway network; We all complain about the condition of the roads but we also complain about the delays caused while they're being repaired. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank Wilkinson Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 It's good to see some commonsense regarding things like this. Whether we like it or not essential repairs or upgrading have to be done and in this case I too think that the company has behaved exactly as it should.Sunday is the obvious day for this kind of disruption as many people can and do go out for the day and if it were to be done on a weekday then many businesses would suffer.I find it hard to believe that the company's actions could prompt anyone to write a letter of complaint to the regulator. If this happened once a fortnight, that's different but an occasional outage, with plenty of warning is far more preferable than a sudden failure, plunging everyone into chaos. This is the likely outcome of not correctly upgrading and maintaining the network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixter Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I agree about the motorway repairs in principal, but how many times have we all waited for ages in a long queue of traffic on a motorway to eventually discover that the lane closure that led to the delay seems to be for the sole purpose of giving impressive display of temporary signs and traffic cones, with not a single workman or bit of hole-digging kit to be seen? Then - to add insult to injury - when we return along the motorway some hours later, there is still nothing happening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Vixter - 2006-12-07 9:56 AM I agree about the motorway repairs in principal, but how many times have we all waited for ages in a long queue of traffic on a motorway to eventually discover that the lane closure that led to the delay seems to be for the sole purpose of giving impressive display of temporary signs and traffic cones, with not a single workman or bit of hole-digging kit to be seen? Then - to add insult to injury - when we return along the motorway some hours later, there is still nothing happening! That's a whole different topic Vixter. D. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Frank Wilkinson - 2006-12-07 9:48 AMIt's good to see some commonsense regarding things like this. Whether we like it or not essential repairs or upgrading have to be done and in this case I too think that the company has behaved exactly as it should.Sunday is the obvious day for this kind of disruption as many people can and do go out for the day and if it were to be done on a weekday then many businesses would suffer.I find it hard to believe that the company's actions could prompt anyone to write a letter of complaint to the regulator. If this happened once a fortnight, that's different but an occasional outage, with plenty of warning is far more preferable than a sudden failure, plunging everyone into chaos. This is the likely outcome of not correctly upgrading and maintaining the networkFrankOK, I wasn't going to get into this - my post was pointing out how useful MH ownership was. I regarded the discussions on the merits or otherwise of this company's action to be outside the coverage of a MH matters forum. In view of this and your response, I was perhasps unwise to mention that I had contacted the regulator as this has opened me up to criticism. However, as you have criticised my actions, I feel honour bound to reply, especially as you have no knowledge neither of the nature of my complaint, nor of my reasons, and indeed you are not aware of the circumstances. These are as follows...We received five days notice that the electricity will be cut off this coming Sunday between 09:00 and 16:00. I was rather taken aback by the length of time, especially considering the time of year. I therefore rang the telephone number quoted on the card in order to find out more information and perhasp understand the reasons for the outage. I was effectively stonewalled by the lady at the other end of the 'phone and received no further information whatsoever. I informed her that I would contact the Energywatch to take advice, which I did (by telephone). Energywatch were rather surprised by the length of time of the outage and provided me with a number for me to contact the distributor directly. This I did, and after some discussion, a most helpful gentleman informed me that this was planned maintenance work rather than emergency essential repairs. I said that, in view of that, I would have expected to have received more notice and that it would have saved me a lot of time and trouble if the lady I originally spoke to had provided me with this information in the first place. I would therefor elike that to be noted, and I would also inform the regulator of that (which I have done - again by telephone). End of story. I consider my position reasonable - I do understand maintenance work needs to be carried out. I beleive it would be more helpful of timely and considered notice was provided, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Hi Robin, I'm not quite sure why you choose to jump on Frank as I was the first to comment on this, the only thing Frank picked up on that I didn't was your complaint to the regulator. Personally I think five days notice is not out of order and although you didn't get the info you were after on your first attempt you did get it in the end. As I said before, the times stated on the letter are USUALLY a guideline giving a window during which the works will take place and it is usual for them to complete well inside this window. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Dave, I responded to Frank, because I thought your post made a reasonable point to which I did not feel the need to respond, and that Frank was making assumptions about my actions that I felt were unjustified. I hope I made clear in my response that I am not jumping up and down about this and that my complaint was more of an observation about the process. The regulator agreed that my comments were reasonable and may actually make some small contribution to improving the way these things are handled in future - (naive? who sir, me sir?). if others express the same thoughts - that's all - as I say - no big deal. :-> :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcob Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 You are fortunate to get notice. Living in the Yorkshire Dales our elecrtic often goes off without notice. Two years ago at New Year it went off for 4 1/2 days. I had to buy a larger generator to keep the deep freeze going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Hi Robin. Will you be inviting the nieghbours over for coffee during the black out? :) Unusual uses. When I was in an Austrian Motorway hold up we supplied refreshments and hot drinks to the neighbouring cars while we waited 2 hours for a bad accident to be cleared. Needless to say some of the ladies present had to be instructed on how to use the chemi-loo. The men could go behind the barrier. Time past very quickly sitting in back having a good chat and playing Uno with some friendly Austrians. Anyone else got any unusual uses which I believe is the spirit of the thread and not complaining about services. Another use I have had was to collect 3 brand new bikes last month from the bike shop. Too lazy to cycle back 15 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 I used to use our motorhome as a support vehicle/hostility unit when I was involved with a group that ran pre Victorian steam locos. My wife often accompanied us and produced the World's finest egg and bacon butties at mid morning (sod that cooking on a dirty shovel lark). Word of warning here, the dirt created by steam engines and the interior of motorhomes are not mutually compatible so if you use yours for similar ventures be prepared to shower/wash outside! D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olley Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Hi Dave previctorian, can't be many survivors I would have thought, she came to the throne in 1837. Olley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 She was on it for more than sixty years setting a new world record for constipation (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan3956 Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Dave I think you mean hospitality unit or did you have the odd punch up. lol Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Yes I do mean pre Victorian but they were all replicas. We started with the Ironbridge museum's replica of Trevithicks 1802/1803 engine which now runs at the Blists hill site. We then had Sans Pareil (competed in the Rainhill Trials against Stephenson's Rocket) for a few years. I've driven the replica of Rocket that the York railway museum own and one of our members (as was) is the only living person to have driven all three of the rainhill trials replicas! Go on then, who can name the third engine? Yes I know it should be hospitality but hostility sounds more fun somehow. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olley Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Hi Dave hate to say this but there were 5 in the competition, that is according to the font of all knowledge Google. Olley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Ah yes but one was horse powered so didn't count and the other failed so early in the comp that it doesn't really count either. Now can anyone name the other engine? D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.