Thursday 9.30am - THE electricity blackout which affected thousands of homes across the Wolds this week has made the national news.

As we reported, 23,000 homes and businesses were left without power on Tuesday morning for around 20 minutes.
The Times has explained the power cut across the Louth area was part of a bigger blackout across the country - caused by seven power stations shutting down.

The article says: “After two power stations suddenly shut down within minutes of one another, nine ‘generating units’ also shut, and at least four other power stations suffered failures throughout the day. Wholesale electricity prices soared 35 per cent to £95 per megawatt hour, a new record, immediately after the cuts.

“The unscheduled stoppages were regarded as an unprecedented sign of the fragility of Britain’s power infrastructure.
“Operations were cancelled, people were stuck in lifts, traffic lights failed and fire engines were sent out on false alarms.
“Householders were unable to use any appliances or make phonecalls as the blackouts hit areas including Cleveland, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and London.

“In and around the Lincolnshire towns of Market Rasen and Louth, 23,000 homes were affected. “It was unclear last night why the power stations had failed. As the cuts escalated, the National Grid was forced to issue the most serious possible warning — ‘demand control imminent’ — and urged suppliers to provide lower-voltage electricity to meet demand.

“Energy suppliers affected by the shutdown, including British Energy and EON, said that they could not reveal the reasons for the cuts, nor would they say when some disrupted stations might resume service, because disclosure could affect the wholesale price of electricity.”
A spokesman for the National Grid has said the number of shutdowns was highly unusual.
One power company insider is reported to have said such an incident had not happened in the past ten years.