Off-grid life is ‘not a dream, but a nightmare’ & more related News Here

It is thought that around 2,000 homes in the UK are off-grid, having no access to mains electricity. With connections costing up to £478,000, why is it so expensive and why do people stay in it?

A plate of cobblestone street biscuits sits on the table in Vanessa Corby’s 19th-century cottage in Northumberland’s Tyne Valley.

“You don’t need to use an oven to make these,” she says.

She is accustomed to playing a daily game of juggling with her equipment to avoid overloading the generator, in fear of being plunged into sudden darkness.

“If you take into account how much I had to pay for my system, solar panels, batteries and generator, it would cost me about £800 a month,” she says.

In 2017 it was awarded a bid of £44,000 for a mains electricity connection, but did not proceed due to access issues.

“People dream of living off the grid, but it’s a nightmare,” she says.

She wants to live in a house she loves but as she grows older she begins to worry about management.

“When the system breaks down, I’m the one who fixes it.

“There is no priority service register for off-grid pensioners.”

Ms Corby’s home is connected to her neighbor Doris Engelmayer’s home via a track that requires a 4×4 vehicle and a sturdy structure.

Neatly lined up in her garage are the jerrycans she uses to collect diesel for her generator because oil companies don’t deliver diesel to her house.

He is also worried about the future.

“The previous owners spent decades trying to get mains electricity,” she says.

“I know I could never afford it, but running my off-grid system is pretty intensive.”

Anne Hutchinson has also spent decades trying to bring mains electricity to her isolated farmstead near Wark in Northumberland and left torches “in strategic places”.

“I can usually find them in the dark,” the 85-year-old laughs.

In 2000 he and his neighbors were quoted £180,000 for a connection.

For years she had just one generator and, even though she now has solar panels, she still keeps careful track of her energy use.

“I like electric fires, but they use a lot of diesel,” she says.

Many off-grid homes are far from the nearest poles and in protected landscapes, so new lines have to be laid.

Steve Batty received an estimate of £478,000 from Northern Powergrid in 2013 for underground connections to his and two neighbours’ properties.

“We’re in a national park so I guess we’ll never find anyone,” he says.

Energy regulator Ofgem admits it does not know exactly how many homes in Britain are off the grid.

It tried to find out by calling for evidence in 2019 and concluded there could be as many as 2,000, but there was not enough data for an exact figure.

It identified that Northumberland “had a mass of such properties”.

Christine Nicholls, of the charity Community Action Northumberland (CAN), described the situation as “appalling” and said “people are being left behind”.

Cain’s research suggests there could be up to 450 off-grid homes in the county.

“Generators are expensive and dirty,” she says.

“People have to constantly monitor their energy usage, this is a worry that keeps bothering them day in and day out.”

The answer to why there are so many properties off the grid in Northumberland probably lies in its geography; It is one of the least populous counties of England, with extensive highlands.

Rural historian Paul Brassley states that such areas were never a priority for 20th century electrification programs.

“If you have to get supply over a long period of time, the whole process becomes quite expensive for the amount of power you are going to sell,” he explains.

Christine Nicholls believes that rural poverty also played a role.

“Most people got the connection for free, but you still have to pay for interior lighting,” she says.

She acknowledges that a “very small percentage” of those living off the grid originally chose to do so, but says, even among this group, there are many who would now welcome connection.

Ellie Langley bought her small stake in Ereshopburn in Upper Weardale, County Durham because she wanted to be “more connected to the planet”.

But he’s worried about the financial challenges of living off the grid.

“The wind turbine is now 20 years old and it would not be possible for me to replace it,” she says.

“I also have battery storage, getting a new one would be too expensive.”

She recently looked up the cost of getting mains electricity and was told it would be £51,000.

Not everyone is in an old or remote property that is off the grid.

Malcolm Hogg built a new house at Belbank Farm, near Bewcastle in Cumbria.

They inquired about a mains electricity connection, but their supplier, SP Electricity North West, quoted them £27,000.

He is “quite happy” with the package of renewable energy installed instead, but would rather have a mains connection if it were free.

Dave Richardson, one of CAN’s off-grid energy advisers, says some of the affected properties are in “relatively urban areas”.

“Some are not far from electricity supply at all, but are still being asked to pay a lot of money for connection,” he says.

Northern Powergrid, which maintains electricity supplies in the north-east of England, says it is “committed to supporting communities through rural electrification projects”, but that industry regulations are in place “to ensure consistency and fairness for all customers”.

“Public funding plays a vital role in making projects viable,” the statement said.

One project that received cash from the public treasury was the electrification of Northumberland’s upper Coquet Valley, in a scheme costing £2.6 million.

However, the connections to many remote farms were largely a by-product of the government deciding that there was a need to supply power to three emergency telecommunications masts.

Christine Nicholls thinks the government should pay for all rural electrification schemes.

“It only needs to be done once and then these people can keep pace with the rest of the country,” she says.

“Things have improved with renewable energy and battery storage but you can’t power an electric vehicle with an off-grid system.

“How will these families cope in the future?”

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it was “working closely with Ofgem to reduce costs and help people in rural areas connect to the grid”.

So why do people live?

Many people have a deep connection to the homes and land where, in some cases, generations of their families lived and worked.

Anne Hutchinson has owned her farmstead for nearly 60 years.

“I did put my name on the council house list, but half-heartedly,” she says.

She smiles as her two cockapoos compete to climb into her lap.

“It feels perfect. It’s home and what will my dogs do if I leave?

“It’s their house too.”