How to claim compensation for an energy power cut

What to do in case of a power cut

Experiencing a power cut and wondering what to do? There are a couple of things you can try which may solve the problem right away.

First, have a look at your fuse box to make sure one of your fuses hasn’t tripped. If that doesn’t seem to be the issue then have a look at your neighbours' homes. Are their lights off as well? If so it’s likely to be a network-related problem and you will have to contact your Local Distribution Company (LDC).

Who to call in case of a power cut

Your electricity provider bills you for your electricity consumption, but it’s your LDC that manages the power lines that connect your home to the national grid.

Here’s who to call in a power cut, based on which region you’re in.

Can I claim for a power cut?

It’s frustrating to be without electricity or gas for any amount of time, but depending on the length of the outage, you could be owed compensation for the power cut.

If your electricity distributor or your gas transporter is at fault and the power was off for a significant period of time, then you can claim power cut compensation if you weren’t warned in advance.

If the outage is due to an action on your end — the supply was severed during works, a fuse tripped or you have not paid your bill — then you cannot claim compensation.

Compensation for electricity outage

According to the Citizens Advice Bureau, if the outage was planned, your distributor must give you at least two days’ notification - this should still be the case if it's a planned blackout because of low fuel supplies. If they have not provided any notice, you can claim £35. You must claim power cut compensation within 30 days of the outage. You can also claim if your supply is cut off on a different day to the one you were notified of.

If the loss of electricity was unplanned, the ability to get power cut compensation will depend on the cause of the outage and how many homes were affected.

If the outage was caused by the network operator

If fewer than 5,000 households experienced an electricity power outage for more than 12 hours, then each home can claim power cut compensation of £95, and £40 for each 12-hour period afterwards.

If more than 5,000 households were affected, then each home can receive the exact same, except the amount is capped at £360.

If your power is cut off for at least three hours more than four times in one financial year, you might be able to get an extra £95.

If the outage was caused by bad weather

If the power outage was due to a storm or other poor weather conditions, households can receive £85 if they were without power for 24 hours, and another £85 if it's off for 48 hours. There will then be another £40 paid for each additional six-hour period. This is capped at £2,000.

Compensation for gas outage

You must receive seven days' notice before a gas outage. Similar to electricity, you can claim £40 if they fail to do this.

If it's an unplanned outage that lasts longer than 24 hours, you are entitled to £60, with an additional £60 per 24-hour period you are without gas after the initial day.

You won’t be able to get compensation if:

• more than 30,000 homes were affected

• you were the cause of the gas supply being cut off

• the gas network operator took "reasonable steps" to prevent a power cut.

If you're on the Priority Services Register, you are also entitled to receive assistance from the gas transporter to arrange an alternative means of cooking and heating.

How do I claim power cut compensation?

You don't need to contact your energy supplier about either your power cut or your compensation for power cuts.

To claim electricity outage compensation

Your electricity network operator should pay you within four weeks of the power being back on. If this hasn't happened, contact it to make a claim (using the table above to find your operator).

If the cut wasn’t caused by bad weather you should be paid within 10 working days - if this hasn't happened, contact your electricity network operator to make a claim. You should also be entitled to £35 in extra compensation.

If you haven't been paid, you'll have to claim within:

• three months for an unplanned cut (unless you're on the Priority Services Register, where there's no time limit)

• one month for a planned cut where your electricity network operator didn’t give you two days’ notice

To claim gas outage compensation

Your gas network operator should pay you automatically within 10 working days - if it doesn't, you should be entitled to an extra £40 in compensation.

If there has been a problem receiving your power cut compensation you can contact the Energy Ombudsman.