Power cut compensation

If you’re looking for information on power cut compensation, you’ve come to the right place. Find out what it is, if you’re eligible and how much you could receive if you’ve been left in the dark.

Can I claim compensation for a power cut?

It depends on the situation. It's quite common for a planned power cut or outage to be announced, but not everyone gets the notices. In cases like this, you won't get or be eligible for any compensation. If the outage is as a result of something you've done, you also won't be able to claim anything.   

If the power cut wasn’t your fault, you might be able to claim compensation depending on the weather at the time and how long you were without electricity.

Planned power cuts

For planned power cuts, often essential for training and maintenance purposes, your energy supplier is required to give you at least two days notice. If your supplier informs you of the planned outage within the required time frame, then you won't be able to claim compensation. However, if the energy provider failed to let you know in time or at all about the power cut, then you'll be able to claim £30 (or £60 for business customers).

What to do if your power turns off

Before you do anything else, it's worth speaking to your neighbours to see if their power is out. If your neighbours also don't have power or the street lights are off, there's probably a power cut in your area. In this instance, you should call 105 for live updates.

What to do if there’s a fault with your electrical switchboard

If your neighbours still have power or the street lights are still on, there could be an issue with your fuses or switches. It might be that your trip switches have tripped or your fuses have blown. If so, you could be using a faulty appliance, or there might be a fault with your wiring

• If the trip switch is on, turn it off and on again. Sometimes a safety feature could have been activated, and turning it off will reset it
• If that doesn't solve it, push the test button
• The switch will trip if electricity is coming into your home. It could mean the fault is either to do with your wiring or an appliance. If the switch doesn't trip, it means there's no electricity coming into your home.
• If the trip switch is off, try to switch it back on again.
• If it then stays on, but you still don't have power, check the main switch on the fuse box is on.
• If the trip switch trips again straight away, turn the fuse box off and turn the trip switch back on.
• The trip switch should then stay on. If it doesn't, you've got a fault with your fuse box or the trip switch itself.
• It may be that an appliance is making the switch trip. Try switching all your appliances off and putting them back on one at a time.

Compensation for a loss of electricity

If your electricity is cut off without notice, and you've checked your switchboard is in order, you may be able to claim compensation. How much compensation you get for your loss of electricity depends on the weather at the time and how long you were without power. 

Normal weather power cuts

As discussed earlier, if a power cut was of no fault of your own and has occurred during normal weather conditions, you may be able to claim compensation. The box below lays out what you can claim under such conditions.

Severe weather power cuts

Sometimes a power cut can be caused by bad weather such as storms and natural flooding. Conditions like these are classed as ‘severe weather categories one to three’ and the table below explains how much compensation you could get in each category.

Compensation for gas outage

For planned gas outages, you should be given at least five days' notice. If you weren't told in time or at all, then you are entitled to £30 compensation which you must claim within one month. For gas outages of more than 24 hours, planned or not, you'll also be able to claim with the amount determined by how long you were without gas. 

Who do I contact?

Don't call your energy supplier to complain about your power cut. Although it seems logical to reach out to your gas or electricity provider, it's your local electricity distributor who you need to contact. If you don't know who yours is, you can find out by entering your postcode on the Energy Networks Association website.    

How to claim compensation

If you're on your supplier's Priority Services Register or your outage was as of result of severe weather, you should be paid compensation automatically. The Priority Services Register is a free and voluntary system that suppliers use to support customers most in need. In all other cases, you'll need to contact either your local electricity distributor or local gas transporter to get the process started. Whichever the case, the payment is usually sent to your energy supplier who'll credit your account with the amount.

Switch your energy supplier

To get the best deals, you need to switch energy providers. Use our technology to compare energy deals and see how much you could save on your next energy bill.