Party Vibe

a good idea – if only to show how dependent we all are on electricity and why consumption should be minimised..

incidentally for those of us who live in the Eastside the electric network infrastructure is creaking at the seams…

Felixstowe was getting only 180 volts recently (strangely enough, around Xmas when people put all those daft outside lights on their houses!)

Some bits of Norfolk and North Suffolk have had power cuts and the recent storms took out loads of poles because in many areas most of the network is still from the 1940s

EDF fix it when it breaks but market pressures (the effects of privatisation) do not give them much room for new investment in networks (its done when “funds permit” rather than being a matter of regional/national pride like it was in the days of the old Electricity Board)

but demand keeps increasing…

Its not being condescending at all , its sound business sense

Even if people aren’t interested in “saving the planet” – Less electric usage == lower bills.

Even if you are in voluntary or public sector its freeing up financial resources for something else more positive rather than paying the money to a big utility firm… speak to whoever does the finances for your area about it…

TBH I would suggest people are sensible about this protest, if you live with others don’t just go to the electric cupboard and turn your whole building off at the incoming mains switch without warning people :laugh_at:(particularly if people have computers switched on – it doesn’t do the data on them much good)

I can see the comedy value but that sort of thing can alienate people to what is a very valid cause…

Also stuff like central heating controllers etc can be a pain to re-start if you interrupt the power to them and you don’t know how they work.

perhaps just before the time make a point of going round the house and switching off each appliance that doesn’t need to be switched on (I’d leave on essential things like fridges/freezers TBH, but things like computers and some telecommunications equipment can be switched off)

Doing this also gives you a chance to see how much equipment is left switched on on standby when it does not need to be…

when I do this tonight I will be alone in the office so it doesn’t matter.

I am not frightened of the dark, I know where all the mice, rats and spiders are in this building so they do not scare me when they are moving around at night, and I keep a torch around anyway…

:groucho: :groucho: :groucho: :groucho:

I took part but I did think it was at quite short notice TBH

I am on a number of other forums where there are various green types yet there was nothing about it on there and on one forum I know the people there don’t stay on it all day like some other places

to have any real publicity effect it needs to be co-ordinated well and have lots of support – to the point where non-participants actually think “hmm, why did all those lights suddenly go out across the town?”