Cold Weather Planning – Advice Issued from the Met Office
Forecast Issued on Monday, 02 January 2023 at 08:34
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Issued by: Duty Meteorologist, Tel: 0370 900 0100 (C) Crown Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved |
Important Advice about Power Cuts
National Grid ESO has indicated that Emergency Power Cuts are unlikely to happen this winter, however please find below some advice issued by Northern Power Grid about power cuts.
Please read: Important advice about emergency power cuts National Grid ESO has indicated that Emergency Power Cuts are unlikely to happen this winter, however, ongoing reports in the news have led to some customers contacting us as they are unsure or concerned what this might mean for them. We are contacting you to share information to help you understand the facts and provide advice on how to be prepared if your power supply is ever affected – whether by a routine local network issue, the impact of severe weather or a wider national energy emergency. Regardless of the cause of a power cut, if you or someone you care for relies on electricity to power medical equipment and don’t know what would happen to it in a power cut, you should speak to your healthcare or medical equipment provider now for advice. You should also ensure that you join our free Priority Services membership, so we are aware of any additional support or advice you may need due to your medical or personal circumstances. Below is some important advice to support you and some Frequently Asked Questions to help you understand what an Emergency Power Cut is, what it means for our customers and what happens in the energy industry to prevent them. Further information is also available at northernpowergrid.com/emergencypowercuts Helping you be prepared
National Grid ESO has indicated that Emergency Power Cuts are unlikely to happen this winter. We hope this information and the FAQs below provide helpful advice, support, and reassurance so you know what to do if your power supply is ever affected for any reason in the future. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What are Emergency Power Cuts? National Emergency Power Cuts are very rare – and unlikely to happen this winter. They would only happen when all other alternatives have been considered or used to deal with a major energy supply shortage and must take place to reduce demand on the country’s power system and fairly share the electricity that is available. Emergency Power Cuts safely manage your electricity supply in an energy emergency so the situation can be resolved quicker. They can help prevent damage, caused by electricity demand being greater than what’s available, from causing longer-term issues on your local power network which could be even more disruptive for you. If Emergency Power Cuts were ever to take place, typically, you could be without power for at least three hours at a time, once or twice a day. How would they happen? National Grid ESO – the company responsible for balancing electricity generated with what customers are expected to use – can instruct network operators like Northern Powergrid to reduce demand on the electricity network by temporarily switching off some customers’ supplies in a safe and controlled way until there is enough electricity for everyone. We can be instructed at short notice (within 30 minutes); therefore, a rota (timetable) may not take place for the first 48 hours of an emergency and will not be pre-advertised. If Planned Emergency Power Cuts, are required a rota would be published to fairly share the electricity available and help customers plan for when their power may be affected until the situation is safely resolved. In an Emergency Power Cut everyone would not be without power at the same time. A rota helps to share the electricity available, ensure everyone has power for most of the day and reduces disruption as much as possible while the industry works to safely resolve the situation. For decades the power network in Great Britain has been sectioned into alphabetical blocks that can be used if there was ever a national energy emergency and a Planned Emergency Power Cut Rota was needed. Customers are allocated a ‘block letter’ in the rota, to show if or when their power might be temporarily affected. Every year National Grid ESO and network operators, including Northern Powergrid, test these procedures for Emergency Power Cuts to ensure that we are ready if they were ever needed. What might happen in an Emergency Power Cut? It is likely you and your neighbours will be without power together, but this won’t always be the case. The way that the houses on your street are connected to your local power network, may mean you are without power at a different time to those living nearby. As with any power cut, your appliances, electrically powered medical equipment, lights, gas boilers, heat pumps, broadband, and home phones will not work. Mobile phone service will also be extremely limited and may drop out entirely. What is done to prevent Emergency Power Cuts? Emergency Power Cuts are only used when a range of other alternatives have been explored by National Grid ESO. These can include encouraging additional generation to meet demand, asking heavy industrial users to limit their demand during peak periods, asking or paying customers to change how and when they use high energy using appliances (like washing machines, tumble dryers, power showers, dishwashers, and hot tubs), and reducing voltage across the country by a small percentage which is not noticeable to customers. In a national energy emergency, everyone can potentially play their part by following smart energy saving behaviours like reducing the use of non-critical electrical devices and fully switching off any equipment not in use. Yours sincerely Louise Lowes Head of Customer Services |
Severe Weather Warning
The Met Office has issued a Cold Weather Alert for severe cold weather and icy conditions with possible wintry showers between 1800 on Wednesday 7th December and 0900 on Monday 12th December 2022.
Please follow this Advice:
Look out for friends and family who may be vulnerable to the cold, and ensure they have access to warm food and drinks and are managing to heat their homes adequately.
Try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18°C, particularly if you are not mobile, have a long-term illness or are 65 or over.
Avoid exposing yourself to cold or icy outdoor conditions if you are at a higher risk of cold-related illness or falls and stay up to date with the latest weather forecasts on the Met Office website
If you want more information about how cold weather can affect your health please visit www.nhs.uk. If you are concerned about your health or somebody you care for, advice can be obtained from www.nhs.uk/winterhealth, NHS 111 or your local pharmacist.
‘Scare’- Crow Competition
Congratulations to the winner of the ‘Scare’ – Crow Competition .
Your Cash Prize will be delivered to you soon.
Haswell Parish Council Agenda 30th November 2022
St Paul’s Church Christmas Fair Saturday 19th November 2022 12-3pm
Remembrance Sunday 13th November 2022
Service at St Pauls Church at 2pm followed by the Act of Remembrance at the Cenotaph
Residents asked to give views on council budget strategy and savings proposals
Durham County Council is asking residents to have their say on proposals aimed at balancing its budget next year, including a range of potential savings.
Durham County Council has launched a consultation today for the public to give views on its proposed approach to try and meet a £37 million gap in its budget in the next financial year, and that is after a potential 2.99 per cent increase in its council tax.
This forecast budget deficit was outlined in a recent update on the council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), which set out a requirement to identify additional savings of more than £52 million between 2023/24 and 2026/27, with more than 70 per cent of this needing to be achieved in the next financial year.
These pressures reflect the unprecedented strain on council budgets due to significant increases in inflation and interest rates, which is impacting on energy costs and fuel prices in particular.
This is being compounded further by expected pay settlements; National Living Wage increases; the outcome of the national Fair Cost of Care exercise, which may impact on the cost of adult social care; and increased costs for Looked After Children and for Home to School Transport stemming from additional demand and complexity of need.
More worryingly, the forecasts do not factor in any potential funding reductions that may be passed on later this year, and the continued uncertainty about future financial settlements for local government is making it difficult for the authority to plan ahead with any confidence.
This has added challenges to the budget setting process, however the council has developed a proposed approach on how it will make some of the savings needed and use its reserves to buy some time to delay any reductions in service delivery and develop a more sustainable solution.
Cllr Richard Bell, Durham County Council’s deputy leader and Cabinet member for finance, said: “These budgetary pressures we are experiencing are not unique to us – many local authorities that, unlike us, don’t have reserves to fall back on in the short term could become unsustainable over the next year or so.
“We have written to the government, and will continue to lobby them, for additional financial support as we strive to balance budgets during these unprecedented times and try and alleviate some of the difficult choices we face.
“We appreciate that savings can have an impact on our residents and communities and we will continue to do what we can to protect frontline services, in particular those which support the most vulnerable, as much as possible.
“The position we find ourselves in, however, will mean that unless there is substantial additional government grant funding coming our way then we will face some very difficult decisions in seeking to balance our budgets in 2024/25 and I’m afraid that front line service delivery will inevitably be impacted in that scenario.
“The strategy we are implementing for next year will only buy us some time to work through these issues and delay these more impactful savings coming in.”
Residents can take part in the four-week consultation on the council’s strategy by completing an online survey.
There is also the option for residents to attend their local Area Action Partnership (AAP) board meeting to find out more and fill in the survey.
Alternatively, people can pick up a physical copy at one of the county’s libraries or Customer Access Points.
The consultation will close for comments on Tuesday 22 November, however feedback from any AAP meetings held after this date will still be gathered.
To complete the survey online, or to book a place at one of the AAP meetings, visit www.durham.gov.uk/consultation
Horse Fair – May Bank Holiday Weekend
Haswell Parish Council would like to keep all residents up to date with the latest information regarding the May Horse Fair which takes place this weekend.
The horse fair which will officially start on Thursday 3rd May 2018 and will run through until Bank Holiday Monday, the 7th May. There will be a trot at 12 o’clock on Bank Holiday Monday which will run through South Hetton, then into Haswell before coming back to the field located on the A182 between South Hetton and Easington Colliery.
This is the same route as has been taken on several of the other horse fairs.
Please be careful of any horses, traps and riders if you are out and about on the:
- A182 throughout South Hetton
- B1283 Durham Lane between Easington Colliery and Haswell
- Salters Lane between Shotton Colliery and South Hetton
Thank you for reading and we hope everyone has a fantastic May Bank Holiday weekend.