Here's some top tips and frequently asked questions to help you prepare for storms or other situations that may affect your power supply.

• What do I need to prepare for an emergency?

  It's important to ensure that you're prepared for storms or other situations that may affect your power supply.
  

  Civil Defence have some great guidelines on how to prepare for an emergency. It's a good idea to put together an emergency survival and getaway kit, which includes a flashlight, batteries and a first aid kit.

  Before a storm arrives, we recommend tying down trampolines, securing outdoor furniture and trimming trees which may come into contact with overhead powerlines during bad weather.

• What should I do before a power outage?

  • Ensure you have enough drinking water to last three days. Fill buckets and baths (if you have one) for washing and toilet flushing.
  • Keep your mobile phone charged. Make sure you have a car charger for your devices to ensure you can keep in touch and keep informed.
  • Be aware that your internet is likely to also be disconnected without power.
  • Turn off sensitive electronic equipment and unplug from the power sockets to protect them from possible power surges.
    
  • Have a torch handy (it's safer than candles which can be a fire hazard).
  • Check you have gas for your BBQ to use for cooking.
  • If you have an automatic garage door opener, please park your car outside prior to the outage. Learn how to operate these manually if possible.

• What should I do during a power outage?

  • Check this page for regular updates. We refresh our website outages information at least half hourly, so if you can't see your outage please check again in a few minutes.
  • Alternatively phone us on 0800 10 40 40. During widespread outages our call centre can experience high call volumes from customers across our network, so you may be placed in a queue to speak to an operator. We appreciate your patience. You can also follow our Facebook page for any updates during business hours.
  • If you or a family member, friend or neighbour is medically dependent on power, make arrangements to get to a hospital or other place that is safe.
  • Turn off sensitive electronic equipment and unplug from the power sockets to protect them from possible power surges.
  • Don’t open your fridge or freezer unless it is necessary – these will stay cold for much longer if they are kept closed.
  • Stay at least EIGHT metres away from damaged powerlines or electrical equipment.
  • If you go out be aware that street and traffic lights may not be working.

• How long will the power be out for?

  Some outages will last longer than others

  Unplanned outages may last longer if it is dark or the weather is causing danger, access to the fault is limited, a storm has caused damage in multiple areas, the damage is severe, or if fault responders are busy.

  Safety First! Our priority is safety and we will be working as hard as we can to get the power back on safely as soon as possible.

  We will try to add an estimated restoration time to the above map, so check there for details.

  Remember to treat all power lines as live at all times and stay clear!

• How do I know when to call Northpower?

  Things to check before reporting a fault;

  • Have the fuses or circuit breakers on your switchboard tripped?
  • Does your neighbour have power? If they don’t then there may be a network fault. If they do, the fault may be in your internal wiring or service line.
  • Check the map above for any current outages.

  Hot water or oven not working? Are only some power points working? This could be a fault with the supply to your home or Northpower may be controlling the hot water load. Call us to check if there is a fault affecting your home.

• Who pays for the repairs?

  You will be liable for the repair costs if;

  • The fault is on your service line.
  • You caused the damage to the Northpower network.