Storm Power Cuts: Severe Weather Storm Check

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Storm Title

Power supplies have been affected by the snow, wind and freezing conditions across the South East of England. We're sorry to all customers affected and are working to restore supplies. View the latest forecast from the Met Office.

Our electricity network is built to be resilient but extreme weather can affect overhead power lines. We urge the public to stay well clear from power lines and anyone spotting a damaged power line needs to report it to us immediately.

Dangerous problem?
Please treat electricity cables as live, stay away and call us immediately 0800 31 63 105 or 105 (Free to call from a landline or a mobile phone).

If you see electricity lines that are down or causing significant risk to the public please call 999.

Please note: Road conditions are making travel more difficult for our engineers across some regions, slowing down our access to repairs.

Power off?

Enter your postcode to search, track and report power cuts.

What are you doing to get my power back on?

We are working as quickly as is safely possible to get everyone’s power back on. We have extra engineers working, more employees ready to answer your calls and we’re contacting customers who need extra support when they have no power.

Help

Will I be given any additional information if I call you ?

No, the same information will be given over the phone by our customer services advisors.

Our advice to prepare for a power cut

Keep our phone numbers handy, call 105 or 0800 31 63 105 (free to call from a landline or mobile phone)
We urge customers who need extra support during a power cut to register for our Priority Services Register
Keep a torch with spare batteries. Take care if using candles
Keep a phone with a cord, as cordless phones don’t work in a power cut
Its especially important if you are unwell, less mobile or very young to keep warm. Dress warmly with layers, a hat and gloves and have blankets to hand, so you can keep warm until the power is back on. You can also reduce the heat loss by closing doors on unused rooms and closing your curtains.

Why can snow and freezing temperatures cause power cuts?

The weight of snow and ice can bend and break tree branches, bringing them into contact with electricity lines, cutting off electricity supplies. In some conditions, ice accretion can occur. This is when ice sticks to our power lines and then the weight of the ice pulls them to the ground.

The electricity network is also working harder during prolonged cold weather, as people are using more electricity and a fault may be more likely to develop in these conditions. So our staff may be busier than usual and we may see more fuses operating on the system.

How does freezing rain impact us? When the right combination of wet snow or freezing rain and wind speed come together a build-up of ice or snow can form on overhead electricity line equipment. This is unknown as ice accretion or line icing. The ice or snow adds extra weight to the equipment and can cause some equipment to break. This is very rare and our network is built to be resilient in these scenarios.

Why can’t you get my power back on quicker?

We aim to connect most customer supplies remotely from our control centre to get power back on as swiftly as possible. Many faults will need our engineers to drive to site to locate, excavate and repair a fault. Road conditions make travel more difficult for our engineers across the East and South East, slowing down our access to repairs, often in remote rural areas. Our teams use 4x4s to reach overhead power lines, underground cables and electricity substations across challenging terrain and in severe weather conditions.

Extra support to those who need it during this weather

We can offer extra assistance to those who need it. We can offer a priority number that you can call 24 hours a day and a dedicated team who will contact you to keep you updated during a power cut. Sign up to our Priority Services Register to get this free support.

Please call us on 0800 31 63 105 or 105 and we can help. Please look out for neighbours, friends or relatives during this time and let us know so we can help them.

How long will the food last in my fridge and freezer without power?

You may be concerned at this time about the food in your fridge and freezer. Food should keep for between 4-6 hours in the fridge and 15-24 hours in the freezer if you can avoid opening it.

My mobile phone battery is low. How do I reserve my battery?

If your mobile phone is running low on battery then here are a few tips to extend your battery life.

Use the extra power saving mode if you have it
Cut apps running in the background
Turn down screen brightness
Top up your battery in your car if you have a car charger

How do you get my power back on during a power cut?

We can restore some power supplies on our high voltage network by remote control from our office, but many other sites need to be individually visited and assessed by our engineers before replacement equipment can be ordered and repair work can then start.

How do you prioritise who gets their power back first?

Our engineers are based out on the road and work from job to job, restoring power supplies as quickly and safely as possible. Where possible they prioritise the incidents where we know the largest number of customers are affected.

How did we prepare for the weather?

We worked very closely with the Met Office before the storm and put in robust plans to minimise the disruption you may experience from a storm of this scale.