Are your neighbours’ lights off too?
Look out of the window before you touch anything. If the street lights are out or the houses opposite are dark, the fault is on the network, not in your home. Call 105. It is free, works from any phone and puts you through to your local network operator.
If everyone else has power and you do not, the problem is almost certainly inside your property, so carry on to step two.
What should you check on your fuse board?
Find your consumer unit, usually a row of switches in the hallway, under the stairs or by the front door. Look for any switch pointing the opposite way to the others.
Flip it firmly back on once. If it stays on, something on that circuit tripped it, often a faulty appliance. Unplug what was running when the power went and see if it holds.
When is a power cut an electrician’s job?
Call us if the switch will not stay on, if only part of the house has power, if the board buzzes or smells hot, or if there is no tripped switch at all but the power is still off.
Do not keep forcing a switch that trips. Each reset pushes energy into a fault, and the fault is telling you something is wrong.
What will we do when we arrive?
We test the board, trace the faulty circuit and make the installation safe first. Most homes leave the visit with power restored to everything except the faulty circuit, and a fixed quote for the repair before any work starts. Read more about how we handle power cuts and outages.
Related: Power cuts and outages · Trip switch keeps tripping · Emergency electrician in Manchester · Emergency electrician in Stockport