How the National Grid is powering Christmas celebration

Published on 25/12/2012 06:38

National Grid engineers will be working round the clock throughout the festive season to make sure families have a safe, warm and comfortable Christmas.

The festive season is a very busy time for National Grid. In the time it takes to cook a 12lb Christmas turkey, the company expects to receive over 1,000 calls to its freephone gas emergency service number.

Keeping gas flowing through the pipeline network is always a priority and never more so than on Christmas Day as we cook the festive feast and enjoy all the traditional seasonal activities.

Over the holiday period National Grid expects to take 117,000 calls nationally on the gas emergency freephone number – 0800 111 999.

So, while the nation is enjoying all the festive fun, here’s an idea of how busy our workforce will be:

In the time it takes to cook a 12lb stuffed Christmas turkey (3.5 hours) we’ll take 1,050 calls

Listening to the Queen’s Speech (10 minutes) – 50 calls

Attending a church service (1 hour) – 300 calls

Families sleeping off Christmas dinner (30 minutes) – 150 calls

Watching The Downton Abbey Christmas special (2 hours) – 600 calls

The chimes of Big Ben welcoming the New Year (30 seconds) – 2 calls

John Duckworth, head of network, said: “Our engineers play a vital role during the festive period in making sure homes, shops and business have a safe and reliable gas supply.”

“But it isn’t just about cooking the Christmas dinner, or enjoying a special TV programme, it’s also about ensuring people are kept safe and warm when the temperature drops.”

“Our staff will be ready to answer calls and deal with any gas related issues that might arise on Christmas Day just as they would on any other day of the year. For National Grid staff it’ll be business as usual”

National Grid manages the National Gas Emergency Service free phone line on behalf of the industry - call 0800 111 999 if you have a problem.

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How the National Grid is powering Christmas celebration

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