Guide
No power in the house? The checks to make first
First find out whether it is only your home. If the neighbours and street lights are out too, it is a power cut, and 105 is the free number to report it in England, Scotland and Wales. If only your home, or part of it, has gone off, the cause is almost always a tripped switch at the consumer unit.
Is it just you?
Look outside. Street lights off, neighbours in darkness, or a neighbour who has also lost power means the fault is on the network, and nothing in your house will fix it. Call 105, which is free and puts you through to the network operator for your area whoever your supplier is. In Northern Ireland the number is 03457 643643. Most network operators also show live outages on their websites. Note the time the power went off, because the call handler will ask, and it helps match your report to a fault.
While you wait, the government's advice is to turn off appliances such as ovens, irons and electric fires so they do not come back on unattended, and to keep fridge and freezer doors shut, which keeps them cold for several hours. Anyone who relies on electrically powered medical equipment can join their supplier's Priority Services Register for advance warning and extra support.
Just your home, and everything is off
Go to the consumer unit. If the main switch or an RCD is down, read the next section before resetting it. If every switch is up and the house is still dead, the problem is before the consumer unit.
On a prepayment meter, check the credit and whether emergency credit needs activating. Otherwise the likely cause is the main fuse in the sealed box beside the meter, or the cable feeding it. That equipment belongs to the network operator: call 105, and never open the sealed fuse carrier or pull the meter cables.
Only part of the house is off
| What has no power | Likely cause | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| About half the house | One RCD on a split load board has tripped | Unplug appliances on that side, then reset |
| Sockets but not lights, or one floor | One circuit breaker has tripped | Reset it once; if it trips again, leave it off |
| One room | A breaker, or a connection failed on that circuit | Check the board, then call an electrician |
| One socket | A loose connection or a broken ring | Stop using it and have it checked |
| One appliance | The fuse in its plug, or the appliance | Try a known working socket, then the plug fuse |
A breaker or RCD that trips again as soon as it is reset is telling you a fault is present. Do not keep pushing it back up.
Lights work but the sockets do not
This is one of the most common calls an electrician gets and it is usually a tripped circuit. Lighting and sockets are on separate circuits, so one can go while the other carries on. Check the board for a breaker that is down, or one sitting halfway between on and off, which counts as tripped: push it fully off, then on.
If nothing has tripped and a group of sockets is dead, the fault is more likely a failed connection at one socket, which on a radial cuts off everything beyond it. A socket that has gone dead and also looks scorched, smells hot or feels warm needs the circuit switching off at the board until it is repaired.
Old fuse boxes
On a board with rewireable fuses, nothing flips down. A blown fuse has to be found by switching off the main switch, pulling each carrier out in turn and looking for broken or blackened wire. It can only be repaired with fuse wire of exactly the rating marked on the carrier. Never use thicker wire, a nail or foil: the fuse is the weak point by design, and anything stronger moves the weak point into the cables in your walls. A house still on rewireable fuses also has no RCD protection, and that is the stronger argument for replacing the board.
Who to call
Network operator, on 105, for anything on their side of the meter, including the main fuse, damaged overhead lines and substations. An electrician for anything after it. A landlord, if you rent, because the installation is theirs to keep safe. Out of hours electricians typically charge £80 to £160 for the first hour on a weekday evening and more overnight and at weekends, so if the house is safe and only one circuit is off, a daytime appointment is usually cheaper.
If you are not sure something is safe, switch off the main switch at the consumer unit. Everything after it is then dead until somebody qualified has looked.
Common questions
Is it safe to reset a trip switch?
Once, yes. If it trips again straight away there is a fault on that circuit, and resetting it repeatedly does not clear it.
Does my energy supplier deal with power cuts?
No. Power cuts are handled by the network operator for your area, which is a different company. 105 reaches them whoever you buy electricity from.
Why has one room lost power when the rest of the house is fine?
Usually one circuit has tripped, or a connection has failed partway along it. If the board shows nothing tripped, an electrician needs to trace the break.
How long will the freezer stay frozen?
With the door kept shut, a fridge or freezer stays cold for several hours. Opening it to check is what lets the cold out.