I came across this today and thought it was rather amusing/interesting.
Quoted from Wikipedia:
Television pickup is a phenomenon that affects electricity generation and transmission networks, often occurring when a large number of people watch the same TV programmes while taking advantage of commercial breaks to operate electrical appliances (particularly kettles), thus causing large synchronised surges in national electricity consumption.
The largest ever pickup was on 4 July 1990 when a 2800 MW demand was imposed by the ending of the penalty shootout in the England v West Germany FIFA World Cup semi-final.
Anther example of television pickup is after EastEnders . Its popularity is that after an episode, electricity use in the United Kingdom rises significantly as viewers who have waited for the show to end begin boiling water for tea. Over five minutes, power demand rises by three GW, the equivalent of 1.5 to 1.75 million teakettles. National Grid personnel watch the show to know when closing credits begin so they can prepare for the surge, asking for additional power from France if necessary.
Quoted from Wikipedia:
Television pickup is a phenomenon that affects electricity generation and transmission networks, often occurring when a large number of people watch the same TV programmes while taking advantage of commercial breaks to operate electrical appliances (particularly kettles), thus causing large synchronised surges in national electricity consumption.
The largest ever pickup was on 4 July 1990 when a 2800 MW demand was imposed by the ending of the penalty shootout in the England v West Germany FIFA World Cup semi-final.
Anther example of television pickup is after EastEnders . Its popularity is that after an episode, electricity use in the United Kingdom rises significantly as viewers who have waited for the show to end begin boiling water for tea. Over five minutes, power demand rises by three GW, the equivalent of 1.5 to 1.75 million teakettles. National Grid personnel watch the show to know when closing credits begin so they can prepare for the surge, asking for additional power from France if necessary.
