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National Grid ESO - Power cuts explained - row light bulbs

Power cuts explained

Lights out? 

Power cuts are not a particularly common occurrence in Great Britain, so when the lights do go out unexpectedly, people aren't always prepared for what to do next.

Here’s our top tips of what to do and who to call if you are experiencing problems with your electricity supply.

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  • Electricity explained

5 things to do in a power cut

If you think you're experiencing a power cut, here's a checklist of 5 things you need to do: 

National Grid ESO - What to do in a power cut - power cut checklist infographic

 

1. Find out if it’s just your house that’s lost power

When the power goes off, you need to find out whether it’s a local problem or something bigger.

Your first port of call should be your consumer unit (you might know it as your ‘fuse box’) to see whether something in your home has caused it to trip and cut off your electricity.

If any of the circuit breaker switches are in the OFF position, simply move the switch into the ON position to reset it.

This should resolve the issue. If the fault keeps happening, leave the power off and call an emergency electrician to come and check it out for you.

National Grid ESO - domestic connections - row of houses

2. Check if the whole street is out

If there’s no problem with your fuse box, it may be a localised issue on your street.

Check to see if your neighbours have power – if they don’t, it could be that someone has dug through a power cable when doing works on your street, a tree may have fallen on nearby power lines or it could be a faulty cable.

It could even be planned maintenance; try to remember whether you received any letters that said the power may be off for a short period of time on a certain day.

For more information about a local power cut like this, you can call 105, which is free from a landline or mobile.

This will put you through to your local distribution network operator to see if they know about any issues in your area and to find out when the power might be restored.

3. Check if it's a distribution network issue

If you notice there are quite a few streets in your area without electricity, the problem is most likely to be with your local distribution network i.e. the cables that distribute power from the grid to your house.

These power cuts may affect large parts of a village, town or city. In these situations, your local distribution network operator will be the one getting the power back on for you.

There are nine of these distribution network operators covering the whole of GB. They take the high voltage power from the national transmission network, reduce the voltage and send it out to homes and businesses.

Most power cuts are due to problems that happen in the distribution system, rather than issues at national transmission level so it is important you report any power cuts to your distribution network operator.   

The good news is that similar to the road network, there is normally more than one route to get power from A to B in the distribution network. If there is an issue with one route, engineers can reroute your supply and get you back up and running while they fix the initial problem.

This isn’t always possible though – perhaps because there aren’t any other routes available, or because of planned maintenance works being carried out on the only other way it could go.

Call 105 to find out who your distribution network operator is and report the fault to them (if necessary), and to find out more about the problem and how long it might take to get your power back on.

The 105 helpline is available 24/7 to answer your queries.

National Grid ESO - Power cuts explained - regional black out

4. Check if it's a regional blackout

Overall, the electricity network is very reliable and large-scale power cuts are incredibly rare.

Should they happen though, distribution network engineers will work around the clock to restore power to affected homes and businesses.

It’s in their interests to get everything back up and running quickly, as they may have to pay compensation to customers who experience a power cut if the reason for the blackout is their fault.

As with any other power cut, call 105 for more updates about a regional blackout and they will be able to update you on when you might expect to see your power back on.

105 answers enquiries from everyone in Britain, regardless of which energy supplier you use and who your distribution network operator is.

National Grid ESO - Industry information - connecting to the Grid - customer service agent

Need more info?

 

Call 105 or visit the Power Cut 105 website for more useful information about power cuts and how to prepare for them.

    National Grid ESO
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