What would happen if all UK households boiled a kettle at the same time?

Households across the country put the kettle on during the ad breaks of prime TV, but would the electricity grid cope with everyone boiling a kettle at the same time?


Asked by: Anonymous

Millions of households do put the kettle on simultaneously during ad breaks in popular TV programmes. The electricity grid can anticipate such surges and has extra capacity from sources such as hydro, on demand. If all UK homes just happened to put the kettle on unexpectedly, the grid would probably cope. The events most likely to threaten supply are when one or more power stations suddenly fail, as in May 2008, when large areas of the UK suffered unprecedented power cuts.

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