Find your network operator while the power is on
An electricity supplier sends your bill. The local electricity network operator manages the lines that bring electricity to your area and provides information about network outages. Save the operator's official outage page and phone number while you have a connection. In Great Britain, 105 can connect you to the local electricity network operator. In Northern Ireland, use NIE Networks' published reporting arrangements.
Write the number down where everyone who might be home can find it. If you live in a building with communal equipment, add the building manager's number as well. These contacts answer different questions: the operator can report on the network interruption, and the building manager can tell you about lifts, powered access and other arrangements for the building.
Make a separate plan for essential equipment
List any equipment or support that relies on mains electricity. Ask the equipment provider or care team how to prepare, what backup is appropriate and whom to contact when it stops working. Keep the plan with the person who needs it and make sure someone else can find it. If there is a power interruption, follow that plan and the provider's instructions. Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger.
Ask your energy supplier and network operator about the Priority Services Register if someone in the home needs extra support. Ofgem explains the types of help and who may be eligible in Great Britain. Discuss exactly what the provider can offer and how you will get in touch if your usual phone or connection goes down. A provider contact is one part of a plan for a household with powered equipment.
Set up light and a way to get updates
Put a torch where it can be reached in the dark. Check the battery and keep a charged power bank with a suitable cable for the phone you expect to use. If your usual home phone or internet connection depends on mains power, ask the provider how emergency calling works during an interruption. Make sure anyone who relies on the phone knows how to use the alternative you agree on.
Keep useful numbers on paper as well as on a device. Include the full address, network operator, building manager and anyone you need to check in with. Agree who will look up the estimated restoration time. A restoration estimate can move as the operator learns more, so record when it was issued and use the official status page for updates.
Check access in a flat or shared building
Speak to the building manager before you need help. Ask how residents will receive messages if the lifts, door entry or communal lighting are affected. If anyone needs accessible assistance, agree the appropriate arrangements with the responsible people in advance. Find out whether visitors or carers need different instructions to reach your door if the usual system does not work.
A plan may be as simple as giving a scheduled visitor a second contact and agreeing when to reschedule. For example, if a delivery includes items that need to be received in person, the building manager's instructions and the delivery provider's options may both matter. Keep these decisions specific to the situation rather than assuming communal equipment will work during an outage.
Keep food decisions separate from restoration estimates
If the power is off, use Food Standards Agency guidance for refrigerated and frozen food. Keep doors closed where practical and note when the outage began. The length of time a device has been without power and the temperature inside are more useful for food decisions than an estimate of when the street will be restored. Read the current advice before deciding what to keep.
Medicines that have storage requirements need their own plan. Ask a pharmacist or relevant provider about the products you use and the steps to take after an interruption. Do not use food storage advice to decide whether medicines are still suitable. Keep the relevant contact on the same sheet as your other essential numbers so it is available if the internet is down.
Use an ordinary evening to test the plan
Find the torch without switching on a light. Check whether the power bank has a cable that fits. Ask another household member to point out the paper contact list, and make sure the network operator's page works on a phone. If you live alone, arrange an agreed check-in with a person you trust and decide what they should do if they cannot reach you.
After an outage, note which part of the plan actually mattered. Maybe the phone held its charge but the building's entrance caused a problem, or somebody had to find a new care contact. Update the paper copy and the version other people use. Review it when your household changes, you move, or anyone starts relying on a new service. That keeps the plan useful between outages.