Power cuts
Unplanned power cuts
When there has been a storm, flood or other extreme weather conditions this can sometimes cause damage to your power supply. In the event of an unplanned power cut, there are some simple precautions you can take to help with the situation.
- Further advice for an unplanned power cut
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- Only use other forms of heating and lighting if you can do so safely
- Limit the use of your laptop or smart phone to save battery power
- Not open the freezer door to keep food and medicine cold:
- A fridge will keep food cold for about 4 hours if the door is kept closed
- A full freezer will keep temperature for about 48 hours, a half-full freezer for 24 hours
- When power is restored turn your appliances back on one at a time.
Planned power cuts
There are also times when the Northern Powergrid will need to turn your power off to carry out essential maintenance to the network. If they do need to do this, they’ll contact you beforehand about the planned power cut to ensure you have time to prepare.
Here’s a handy list how of to prepare for a planned power cut:
- Have a good supply of warm clothing and blankets to hand
- Fill a vacuum flask with a warm drink
- Fill a hot water bottle
- Keep a torch handy (candles aren’t safe, especially with children around)
- Make sure your mobile phone has important numbers stored and is fully charged
- Leave a light on so you know when power has been restored
- Have a battery-powered radio tuned into a local radio station
- Regularly save or back up work on your computer
- Stock up on non-perishable foods.
Northern Powergrid always tries to keep planned power cuts to an absolute minimum over the winter months.
Have you heard of the Northern Powergrid Priority Services Membership?
The Priority Services Membership is for customers who feel that they need a little extra support during a power cut. This could be for many reasons, for example if you have a medical condition, if you’re elderly or disabled, if you have young children, or if you rely on electricity for medical equipment.
Northern Powergrid will contact you to let you know the time your power is likely to be back on and they’ll let you know of any help they may be able to provide. They do this regardless of the time of day or night by text message, or by calling you if they only have your landline number.