Although our crews work hard to keep the electricity and gas on 24/7 – you may experience a power outage.
We know it’s inconvenient, and while we work quickly and safely to get the power back on, here are some tips to get you through it.
Visit our life support page if you rely on power for essential life support or mobility equipment.
Planned outages
We will always let you know if you are going to lose power due to planned works. If we need to turn the power off to conduct maintenance, or if we need access to your property, affected customers will receive a notification letter in advance.
Planned outages are necessary to prevent longer and more frequent unplanned outages.
Unplanned outages
Unplanned outages happen suddenly and can be due to weather conditions, trees falling on lines, lack of reserve, damage from third parties or a fault on our network.
During an outage
- Avoid opening fridge and freezer doors to keep food cold. If unopened food will keep cold for about 4 hours, and in the freezer for about 48 hours.
- Switch off and unplug appliances including TVs and computers.
- In summer, close curtains and windows to keep cool air inside.
- In winter, wear layers and draw back curtains to stay warm.
- If you have solar panels they should automatically turn off and back on.
- If you are experiencing an extended outage, we recommend considering public spaces you can go, visiting family or friends, or talking to your employer about alternative work arrangements if you work from home.
- Always treat powerlines as live.
Prepare for future outages
- Have a battery-powered torch and radio (along with spare batteries).
- Keep your mobile devices charged - you can also use a vehicle or portable power bank to do this.
- Check our outage map for updates.
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for any large outage updates.