The iconic EastEnders episode that almost brought down the UK power grid when it aired

Although the UK’s power grid can often meet the wants of the Great British public, there are some factors when it’s actually pushed to its limits.

Surprisingly, it’s not world altering occasions that put this stress on however one thing mundane as the TV schedule.

When you are watching TV and an advert break comes on, it’s the good likelihood to place the kettle on for a cup of tea.

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The drawback although is that if thousands and thousands of individuals throughout the nation have the similar shiny concept.

Millions of kettles getting switched on at the similar time causes an enormous surge in demand throughout the power grid.

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In the enterprise this is named a TV pickup.

Failing to foretell and reply to those, can deliver down the electrical community.

Often it’s sporting occasions that trigger this type of surge however one specific EastEnders episode was responsible of it as nicely.

On April 5 2001, an estimated 22 million viewers tuned in to see the end result of the ‘Who shot Phil?’ story arc, when it was revealed that Phil’s ex Lisa Shaw, performed by Lucy Benjamin, was the offender.

At the finish of the episode a surge of 2290MW was recorded, greater than 5 instances the regular pickup seen for EastEnders episodes.

It was the third greatest pickup ever at the time, solely surpassed by the remaining episode of The Thorn Birds in 1984 (2600MW) and the 1990 England v West Germany FIFA World Cup semi-final penalty shootout (2800MW).

An episode so good, it almost brought down the nation’s power grid.

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