Live Power Cuts
If your power is off right now, call 105
105 is free from any phone, works anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales, and connects you to the company that runs the wires in your area — whoever you buy your electricity from. That is the fastest route to a report and to an estimate of when supply comes back. This page is for checking whether a cut is already known about, not for reporting one.
If you see a fallen power line, do not approach it. Call 105 and stay at least twenty-five metres away.
Which networks this page can see
Great Britain is divided between six distribution network operators, and they publish their live fault data on very different terms. This page carries the 5 that publish under a licence permitting reuse and are being read right now: Electricity North West, National Grid Electricity Distribution, SP Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and UK Power Networks. That is a real limit, not a formality, and it is stated before any incident list rather than after it.
Northern Powergrid is registered here but is not contributing incidents at the moment; the list above says which of the two reasons applies to each.
Scottish Power Energy Networks was described here as having blocked every automated request. That was true of its corporate website and false of the company: its open data portal publishes a live outage feed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, and it was found on 7 August 2026 by looking somewhere else. Most of SPEN’s other datasets are under an industry licence that forbids republication outright, so “SPEN says no” had looked like a settled answer. It was a settled answer to a different question.
Northern Powergrid and Electricity North West were the last two missing, and both were added on 8 August 2026 — so every one of the six operators is now registered here. Northern Powergrid publishes under its own open data licence, which permits this and asks to be credited in a particular form; its feed needs no key at all.
Electricity North West was described here as publishing its feed under the industry licence that does not permit reuse. That was true of one of its datasets and not of the company: its National Energy Outage feed is indeed under that licence and refuses us even with a key, but it publishes a separate live incidents feed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, and 96 of its 146 datasets are on those terms. One dataset saying no is a fact about that dataset. Where a network is missing, the honest statement is that we cannot see it — and where the reason is us rather than the publisher, that is worth saying too.
Electricity North West publishes no postcode with its incidents, only the location of the switch that tripped. So its faults appear in the full list and cannot be found by searching an area. That is stated beside the search rather than left for an empty result to imply, because “nothing found for your postcode” and “this network cannot be searched by postcode” read identically and mean opposite things.
National Grid’s feed was held back until 6 August 2026 on the basis that it carried no licence. It does: the data portal records it in a field the earlier check did not read, under National Grid’s former name for the business. The licence permits reuse, so the feed is now included — which is worth saying plainly, because “no licence” and “a licence nobody found” are different things and only one of them is the publisher’s doing.
Networks covered
Which networks this page can see
Electricity North West
Electricity North West licence area: the North West of England, from rural Cumbria to urban Manchester · about 2,400,000 connections
Feed last checked 11 Aug, 18:41
National Grid Electricity Distribution
National Grid Electricity Distribution licence areas: East Midlands, West Midlands, South West and South Wales · about 7,900,000 connections
Feed last checked 11 Aug, 18:41
Northern Powergrid
Northern Powergrid licence areas: the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire · about 3,900,000 connections
This feed has stopped updating — last successful read 11 Aug, 09:41. Incidents for this network are not being shown, which is not the same as there being none. Call 105.
SP Energy Networks
Central and southern Scotland, Merseyside, Cheshire, North Shropshire and North Wales (SP Distribution and SP Manweb licence areas) · about 3,500,000 connections
Feed last checked 11 Aug, 18:41
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
North of Scotland and central southern England (SSEN licence areas) · about 3,900,000 connections
Feed last checked 11 Aug, 18:41
UK Power Networks
London, South East and East of England (UKPN licence areas) · about 8,500,000 connections
Feed last checked 11 Aug, 18:41
Live incidents are shown for Electricity North West, National Grid Electricity Distribution, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, SP Energy Networks and UK Power Networks only, together about 26.2 million of roughly 30.1 million connections across all Great Britain's network operators. If your network is not listed, this page cannot tell you whether there is a power cut in your area - it is not saying there is none.
That is roughly 87% of Great Britain’s electricity connections. The other networks either publish no reusable licence or have not been integrated yet.
Open incidents across all 6 networks
97 open, showing the 60 most recent
EH1
Started 11 Aug, 18:45 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 23:00
SP Energy Networks · reference INCD-1404739-s · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
DT2, DT6
Started 11 Aug, 18:30 · no restoration estimate published
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7193 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
GU14
Started 11 Aug, 18:20 · estimated back by 12 Aug, 02:00 · about 16 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7184 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
N8
Started 11 Aug, 18:17 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 22:30
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624229-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
GU14, GU16
Started 11 Aug, 18:09 · estimated back by 12 Aug, 00:30 · about 1,869 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7132 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
HP3
Started 11 Aug, 17:57 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624224-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
GU34
Started 11 Aug, 17:51 · estimated back by 12 Aug, 01:00 · about 8 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7094 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
PH31
Started 11 Aug, 17:44 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 22:30 · about 4 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7098 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
LU2
Started 11 Aug, 17:42 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624220-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
ML1
Started 11 Aug, 17:38 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:53
SP Energy Networks · reference INCD-1404751-s · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
KA6
Started 11 Aug, 17:30 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:48
SP Energy Networks · reference INCD-1404745-s · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
IP30
Started 11 Aug, 17:25 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624215-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
BH21
Started 11 Aug, 17:25 · no restoration estimate published · about 6 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7064 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
RG24
Started 11 Aug, 17:20 · estimated back by 12 Aug, 00:30 · about 40 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7062 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
BA11
Started 11 Aug, 17:20 · no restoration estimate published · about 10 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6308 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
SN16
Started 11 Aug, 17:18 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 19:30 · about 168 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7049 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
BN2
Started 11 Aug, 17:14 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 22:30
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-456742-G · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
KT4
Started 11 Aug, 17:13 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-80449-N · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
WD3
Started 11 Aug, 17:06 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 19:30 · about 21 properties
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624209-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
IV30
Started 11 Aug, 17:05 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 23:59 · about 4 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU7036 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
SS1
Started 11 Aug, 16:52 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:00 · about 6 properties
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-26521-O · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
IP13, IP19
Started 11 Aug, 16:45 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 20:00 · about 24 properties
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624197-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
KT3, SW19, SW20
Started 11 Aug, 16:26 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 22:30 · about 513 properties
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-413888-J · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
AB21, AB23, AB41
Started 11 Aug, 16:13 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 19:00 · about 255 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6988 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
RG23
Started 11 Aug, 16:10 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 23:30 · about 15 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6979 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
SW18
Started 11 Aug, 15:50 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-80440-N · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
SY15
Started 11 Aug, 15:45 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 18:00 · about 8 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71923-m · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
WV1, WV11, WV2
Started 11 Aug, 15:40 · no restoration estimate published
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71340-p · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
ME7
Started 11 Aug, 15:39 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-104632-V · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
GL19, WR6
Started 11 Aug, 15:36 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 19:00 · about 32 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71920-m · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
BR8
Started 11 Aug, 15:34 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 22:00 · about 8 properties
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-104631-V · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
GU4, GU5
Started 11 Aug, 15:20 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:30 · about 5 properties
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-456731-G · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
GL12, GL8
Started 11 Aug, 15:16 · no restoration estimate published · about 463 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71916-m · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
RG25
Started 11 Aug, 14:56 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 19:00 · about 22 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6805 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
NR9
Started 11 Aug, 14:44 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624163-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
KA6
Started 11 Aug, 14:41 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:48
SP Energy Networks · reference INCD-1404613-s · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
G5
Started 11 Aug, 14:35 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:35
SP Energy Networks · reference INCD-1404607-s · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
TQ5
Started 11 Aug, 14:15 · no restoration estimate published
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-16259-u · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
TA5
Started 11 Aug, 14:09 · no restoration estimate published · about 133 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-16255-u · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
TN12
Started 11 Aug, 14:04 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-456717-G · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
SO31
Started 11 Aug, 14:01 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:00 · about 246 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6750 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
LN1
Started 11 Aug, 13:59 · no restoration estimate published
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-134600-h · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
SY4, TF6
Started 11 Aug, 13:37 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 15:00 · about 33 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71902-m · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
WR3, WR9
Started 11 Aug, 13:34 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 19:00 · about 90 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71901-m · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
Area not published
Started 11 Aug, 13:31 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 20:30 · about 24 properties
Electricity North West · reference INC 125359437 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:26
CV11
Started 11 Aug, 13:10 · no restoration estimate published · about 2 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-134592-h · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
OX14
Started 11 Aug, 12:44 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:30 · about 27 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6548 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
EX10
Started 11 Aug, 12:35 · no restoration estimate published
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-16235-u · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
EX17
Started 11 Aug, 12:32 · no restoration estimate published · about 4 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-16237-u · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
CM6
Started 11 Aug, 12:26 · no restoration estimate published
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624123-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
WV15
Started 11 Aug, 12:14 · no restoration estimate published · about 18 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-20661-l · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
BA3
Started 11 Aug, 12:11 · no restoration estimate published · about 49 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-16231-u · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
AL2
Started 11 Aug, 11:57 · no restoration estimate published · about 9 properties
UK Power Networks · reference INCD-624109-Z · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
GL14
Started 11 Aug, 11:51 · no restoration estimate published · about 4 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71304-p · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
KW17
Started 11 Aug, 11:35 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 23:00 · about 9 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6421 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
RG25
Started 11 Aug, 11:24 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 23:30 · about 19 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6401 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
BH21
Started 11 Aug, 11:21 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 23:00 · about 41 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6362 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
SN14
Started 11 Aug, 11:15 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 21:00 · about 18 properties
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks · reference TU6316 · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
B61
Started 11 Aug, 10:59 · estimated back by 11 Aug, 18:00 · about 53 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71884-m · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
HR7
Started 11 Aug, 10:30 · no restoration estimate published · about 119 properties
National Grid Electricity Distribution · reference INCD-71290-p · retrieved 11 Aug, 18:41
Areas are shown as outward codes — the first half of a postcode. The networks publish either full postcodes or postcode sectors; this site reduces them all to the outward code before storing anything, so no incident here points at a particular home. Where a network publishes a map of the properties affected, that map is not stored either. In an emergency, or if your network is not covered, call 105. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, NGED Open Data Licence and Northern Powergrid Open Data Licence v1.0.
Your supplier cannot fix a power cut
This is the single most common confusion in a power cut, and it costs people time when they are already in the dark. The company that bills you buys electricity and sends invoices. It does not own a single cable between the substation and your meter. Restoring supply is the distribution network operator’s job, and it is decided by geography, not by who you switched to.
You cannot choose your network operator and switching supplier will never change who turns up. Our network reliability figures show how often each of the fourteen licence areas loses supply and for how long, against the target Ofgem set it.
When you are owed compensation
Under Ofgem’s guaranteed standards, a network operator must pay you if supply is off for long enough. The thresholds depend on whether the cut was normal or the result of severe weather, and on how many properties went off at once, so the figures on this page are a starting point rather than a claim.
Planned interruptions are treated differently: if the network gave you proper notice, no payment is due. That is why planned work is labelled as such above, rather than counted in with faults.
Frequently asked questions
My postcode area shows nothing. Does that mean my power is fine?
Not necessarily. Great Britain is divided between six distribution network operators and this page carries live feeds only from those that publish under a licence permitting reuse. The list of networks it can see, and the share of Great Britain’s connections they add up to, is shown above and comes from the feeds themselves rather than from this sentence. If your network is not one of them, an empty list means we cannot see your area, not that there is no power cut. Call 105 free from any phone and you will be put through to whoever runs the wires where you are.
Why do you show a postcode area rather than a full postcode?
The networks publish either the full postcodes affected by each fault or the postcode sectors. Combined with a fault location, that is enough to point at a handful of specific homes, so we reduce every one of them to its outward code — the first half — before storing anything. One network also publishes a map outline of the properties that lost supply; we do not store that either. Nothing on this page identifies a particular property.
Why does the number of incidents not match the network’s own map?
The feeds include incidents that have already been restored — usually most of them. UK Power Networks mixes that status into the same field it uses for the type of fault, and the shared National Energy Outage feeds carry finished incidents for days. We count only incidents that are genuinely open, so our number is usually well below the raw feed length. Each incident also shows when we last read the feed.
Do you show planned power cuts as well?
Yes, and they are labelled as planned work. A planned interruption is one the network told you about in advance, usually for maintenance; it is not a fault, and no compensation is due for one carried out with proper notice.
Related reading
Written by
Rob Gibbs
Hi, I'm Rob, and I run Energy-Review.co.uk. I initially started this project in 2018 when I was looking to switch energy suppliers and found there wasn't a website that provided simple, data-backed reviews on all the suppliers available. Since then, I have spent a lot of time (too much, some may say!) looking at all publicly available data about each supplier and writing reviews using this information. These reviews are updated as regularly as possible, and any data is backed up by a source where necessary. I have also started writing guides on various energy-related topics, which hopefully you will find useful. If you find any issues, please use our contact form to let us know.