Black Sky: Britain’s 72-Hour Plan for When the Lights Go Out

BLACK SKY: what really happens if all the lights go out, and the plan for when they do. In December 2015 a flood cut the power to 61,500 people in Lancaster. Lights, heating, some of the water supply, most cash machines and petrol stations all failed. What kept working was an old copper phone line and FM radio. Britain now plans for a "Black Sky" event, and so does the BBC. This is what fails, what the plan is, and why one expert says we've gone backwards. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open 0:42 Why power is everything 1:22 Lancaster, December 2015 2:59 Seventy-two hours 3:47 The BBC's Black Sky plan 5:20 What actually breaks 5:51 "We've gone backwards" 7:02 Your seventy-two hours 7:47 Close SOURCES • BBC News: "What happens if all the lights go out? This is the plan for a 'Black Sky' event" (reporter: TBD) • UK Chief Medical Officers: Public health advice during a national power outage www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-advice-from-uk-cmos-during-a-national-power-outage The government says there is no specific threat to the grid, and Britain's grid has never had a complete outage in its 75-year history. Lancaster scenes are illustrated reconstructions. Characters are generic illustrations, not likenesses. Figures reflect public reporting at the time of publishing.