So what does this say about our power infrastructure
Power cuts! Didn't affect me but doesn't bode well really. Seems they lost 2 generators and the whole system started to fall over. Sounds more like lack of back up capacity and sailing along with some hope on the wings of a prayer.
It just shows how reliant we are on power nowadays. No power, no any!
It says that the grid did exactly what it was designed to do, balance loads by cutting off sections of the grid in the event of a generator failure to prevent a nationwide grid collapse... 
It's just being blown out of proportion as usual by the media, "Much of the UK", meaning londoners were inconvenienced, while the rest of the country didn't notice a thing, it's no worse than what happens after a hefty storm blowing over the country, it's just the boy crying wolf again... 
Seems Newcastle was also affected, so not just London and SE. I'd agree with the grid doing what it did to protect itself but losing just 2 generators. Must have been big ones. Still, be okay today. Plenty of wind about.
Newcastle airport, some areas around it, not really much of an issue to be honest, biggest powercut round here recently was when lightning struck Pontop Pike (or the powerlines beside it) and took out a hefty chunk of the grid at about 3am, but that lasted all of 5 minutes, the endless house alarms on the other hand though.......
And as for just two generators, well, it was a friday, it was around a very busy time of day (hometime rush hour), lots of electrical things being used, so a high load time for the grid, and in areas of highly concentrated grid-sapping, they had to shut things off, better a day of disruption to a few than months of trying to get the grid back up and working again just so some grumpy commuters could get home...
@twocvbloke wrote:
It says that the grid did exactly what it was designed to do, balance loads by cutting off sections of the grid in the event of a generator failure to prevent a nationwide grid collapse...
It's just being blown out of proportion as usual by the media, "Much of the UK", meaning londoners were inconvenienced, while the rest of the country didn't notice a thing, it's no worse than what happens after a hefty storm blowing over the country, it's just the boy crying wolf again...
@twocvbloke That is the nature of media. I suppose they were at it in the time of clay tablets and papyri. The effect was far more extensive, with London rail termini unable to deal with electric trains in or out during the afternoon peak. Many trains run well beyond the inner commuter belt, strangely full of commuters.
On the plus side, at least we have the grid, once upon a time the UK was reliant on small power stations within towns and cities, and provided electricity at their own whim, not to mention at varying voltages, frequencies, or whether it was AC or DC, what plugs & sockets they supplied, price, underground, overground (wombling free), just a right old mess really, and no interconnectivity to supply another place that has lost power to keep them up and running, the grid is a fantastic system...
Relatively speaking, yesterday was a minor event, it could have been far, far worse I'm sure, a cascade failure for one as areas tripped out due to under-powering from the failed generators, and as they went off other generators tripping out too as they went into over-run, resulting in more tripping of areas, etc., all in all the national grid did an excellent job at keeping the power on for the majority of the UK, and they should be praised for it...
I've been fascinated with electricity ever since I first stuck my finger into a lamp socket that was live, and also quite scared of it even today, no association with them, nor any Part-P paperwork to say I'm competent to work with the stuff after a week long course, I'm just someone who likes electricity, from low voltage DC stuff to the big boys power supplies that bite back if you mess with them... 
It is indeed in the US, but it's still amazing to see, I'm amazed that cherry picker has the strength to hold the weight of that guy's balls (and probably the contents of his bowels too) having that electric dragon in his face like that...
If the transport networks in the UK had the same level of management that the national grid has, there wouldn't have been such a farce with trains stopping and whatnot...