Pheasant

I have been following the GB Electricity generation equation for some years tracking green energy supply versus Carbon. Since beginning of March Export to the continent has been consistently high and with Russia taking out Generation in Ukraine this has a knock-on effect right across Europe. (Max we can export is 6.3Gw)

The whole continent will suffer this winter and the last week (Ukraine) has practically made some rolling blackouts certain IF we get a blocking high causing low wind and Cold conditions.

Pick your personal choice of Pray / Hope / Wish for a consistently windy winter and we may get away with no cuts at all. (Peak wind is up 13% on 2021 but it is the average that counts up 15% and climbing). If we weren't exporting there are some periods (30 min) when we would be 100% green in GB for the first time ever. (No Coal/Oil/Gas/Bio).

I'm all up for renewables.

There must be some capacity to install renewable generation capability at exchange sites (certainly the 900 or so strategic ones that will be kept long term)?

My local exchange will run on generator for weeks before needing diesel. The ability for punters to call 999 was taken very seriously when the exchange was built and maintenance routined.

My VDSL cabinet will run on battery for around 5 hours.

The bulk fuel store at the exchange must be massive if it can run the entire exchange for weeks without needing a filll?

I have experience of running a 62 kVA standby set and that can get through 400 litres of juice in a 24 hour period - admittedly that's at full load - but even at 1/4 load its at least 100 litres a day.

The integrated fuel bunkers that CityFibre put under their FEX gensets wouldn't be more than 1000 to 2000 litres at most. Enough for a week of running I would say.

Pic of warehouse-based FEX with genset

There is some capacity possible on roofs, but many have a lot of kit already on there, (cooling, Radio, Mobiles etc) so not much space for Solar and most power issues are when it is dark. Certainly not enough to power an exchange (big exchange will have multi Mw demand). Most are in built up areas so not suitable for wind turbines.

BT tried to get Turbines on the Lizard (Goonhilly) some years ago but there were lots of complaints about ruining the view! They only got permission for some small ones.

Even the rural sites tend to be in villages and are not on the exposed places suitable for wind generation.

Pheasant

Don't know where FibreBubble's exchange is, but small exchanges (600-1000 lines) will only have a 6Kw engine so tank doesn't have to be that big. May only need 2Kw to run the whole exchange if other CPs didn't take up LLU or didn't take the resilient power. .

A few years ago they were running all the exchange engines around here 4 til 7 every night selling back to the grid.

Get ready for round two…😂

Morning Pluralist,
"The OP also seems to me to be referring to VOIP/Digital Voice: "

No, I was thinking simply about the xDSL feed.
Mentioned POTS referring back to the old days when there was almost always guaranteed a phone signal down the line even when mains electricity was down.

Really trying to get an idea of how badly (or otherwise) broadband service will be affected in the event of major power cuts this winter.

Personally I have an EO line. So I'm assuming that will still have both phone and broadband service. At least for a while.

"I took that to mean ‘standard exchange based telephony’ Bob.

POTS Plain Old Telephone Service"


Yes