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National Grid Gas Distribution is expecting over 63,000 calls to the 24 hour National Gas Emergency Service number over the festive period.
National Grid said for its engineers it will be business as usual on Christmas day as they continue to work “around the clock”.
The company expects to receive 179 calls during the one hour period of the Doctor Who Christmas special, 224 calls during the hour and 15 minutes of Strictly Come Dancing, and 358 calls during the two hours of Downton Abbey on Christmas day.
Last year the company received 4,489 calls from the North London region alone over Christmas.
National Grid is also expecting the last ever episode of Downton Abbey, due to air on Christmas day, to cause a power demand pick-up of 400MW, beating last year’s biggest spike of 320MW after Eastenders.
The largest pick up ever seen on Christmas day, at 1,340MW, followed an episode of Only Fools and Horses in 1996.
National Grid’s Gas Distribution head of operations London network Phil Clarke said: “Our engineers play a vital role at this time of year in making sure homes, shops and business have a safe and reliable gas supply throughout the festive season.
“For us it’s business as usual. Our staff will be ready to answer calls and deal with any gas related problems that might arise on Christmas day just as they would on any other day of the year.”
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