A multitude of people might argue that Downton Abbey is in itself somewhat disastrous, but to a majority of the UK’s adult population, it’s their absolute favourite on the television and so much so that the National Grid predict that the last ever episode, to be aired at 8:45pm on Christmas Day, will cause a power demand pick up of 400MW.

photo_21226_20111117Last year’s biggest Christmas audience was Eastenders, according to Edie.net, which caused a 320MW demand.  So when one considers that the National Grid will have lower reserve power margins this year, that’s perhaps not a cause to celebrate. With its lowest power reserves in over 10 years, imagine how the biggest Christmas Day pick-up to date, being an episode of Only Fools and Horses in 1996, with it’s 1,340MW demand would be received now?

There’s no two ways about it, Christmas is a very, very power-hungry time of year. However, when one considers that many businesses and factories close their doors, as the nation wakes up and turns on its ovens, a peak is reached by around lunchtime, but even still, the demand is actually significantly lower throughout Christmas Day than other winter days. So unfortunately, the argument that Downton Abbey could bring us to our knees is not one that will stand up this winter.

20141128_125410-1024x768If you’re still not convinced, or would still like to blame potentially unstable National Grid power reserves on Downton Abbey, why not read shentongroup’s whitepaper entitled “How important is power continuity to your business?” – It’s a free guide to help protect your business, enabling you to select the right type of standby power. Read about the impact of power failure on your business, the types of power failures, your options in dealing with them and whether a permanently installed standby system or emergency generator call-out service would suit you best.

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