Who Fixes a Power Cut? Network Operators and the 105 Number

When the power goes off, the company that fixes it is not the company you pay your bills to. Your energy supplier sells you electricity; your electricity network operator, sometimes called a distribution network operator or DNO, owns and maintains the underground cables, overhead wires and substations that physically carry electricity to your home¹. When there is a power cut, it is the network operator that restores the supply and pays any compensation, not your supplier¹.

For most households the practical answer is simple: call 105. Wherever you live in England, Scotland or Wales, calling 105 is free and connects you with your local network operator³. In Northern Ireland the network is run by a single company, NIE Networks, and the number to call is 03457 643 643². Operators must restore supply within 12 hours in normal weather, rising to 24 or 48 hours in severe storms, and compensation is paid automatically after qualifying outages⁴.

Power cuts are dealt with by the network operator, not your energy supplier

The split between supplier and network operator confuses many households, and it matters most during an outage. Your energy supplier is the company you pay to use electricity². Your network operator is a different company altogether: it maintains the wires that bring electricity to your home or business², and you do not pay your bill to it⁶. Ofgem puts it plainly: a network operator is responsible for the pipes and wires that move energy, and should be contacted about power cuts or connection issues in your area⁷.

The network operator's responsibilities go beyond fault repair. Electricity network operators help connect your home to electricity and can move your electricity meter, and they fix power cuts that are not caused by a problem inside your home². The Met Office confirms the same division of labour: it is your electricity distribution network operator that is responsible for maintaining physical electricity supplies to your home or business⁸.

The boundary of responsibility continues inside your property, though only just. UK Power Networks, which operates in the east of England, London and the south east, describes the cut-out, the fuse and connection point where the electricity enters your home, as the only piece of internal equipment it is responsible for. The electricity meter itself belongs to the company the household pays bills to⁹. So a fault on the street is the operator's problem; a fault in your wiring is yours, or your landlord's. In the private rented sector, the landlord is legally responsible for repairs to electrical wiring¹⁰.

For a household thinking about energy independence, this defines the dependence that remains. However much generation and storage you install, the physical connection to your street is owned and maintained by a regulated monopoly, and only it can repair a fault on that network. Backup power at home, covered across our backup power guidance, is what bridges the gap while the operator works.

105: a single free call connects you to your local network

105 exists because most people do not know the name of their network operator, and in an emergency they should not have to. The electricity network operators introduced 105 to give customers an easy-to-remember number to call that puts them through to the local people who can help during a power cut¹¹. The service is free, and the technology behind it is operated by Energy Networks Association, the trade body for the network companies¹¹.

The number works across Great Britain. Wherever you live in England, Scotland or Wales, calling 105 is free and will connect you with your local network operator³. Ofgem's own advice for households is the same: call 105 for free and you will be put through to your electricity network operator⁴. The service marked its tenth anniversary in September 2026, a decade of routing power cut calls¹².

105 is not only for reporting outages. You can also call 105 immediately if you spot damage to electricity power lines and substations that could put you, or someone else, in danger¹³. Energy Networks Association advises contacting your network company online or calling 105 as the standard route for power cut contact¹².

For everyday resilience, the practical habit is to store 105 in your phone before you need it, alongside the priority services register if anyone in the house depends on electricity for medical equipment. During a storm, when call volumes surge, social media and your local network operator's website are the best places for key updates and restoration times¹⁵.

Ways to identify who runs your local electricity network

Because the operator for your address is fixed by geography, finding it takes a postcode. Energy Networks Association provides a postcode lookup: enter your postcode on its page and it tells you who your electricity distribution network operator is². The Energy Ombudsman points to the same route, noting you can find out who your network provider is via the Energy Networks Association website¹⁰, and the Met Office likewise directs households to the ENA's list of distribution network operator companies⁸.

The structure behind the lookup is worth understanding. There are 14 operators across Great Britain, and the actual operator is determined by where you live¹⁶. Your supplier can change when you switch tariff or provider; your network operator cannot, because it is defined by the physical network serving your street.

Northern Ireland is the exception. The entire province is served by one network company, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, trading as NIE Networks, so no lookup is needed: its customer helpline is 03457 643 643². NIE Networks also offers a WhatsApp service, available 7.30am to 11.30pm, 7 days a week, including public and bank holidays¹⁷.

Knowing your operator in advance shortens every step of an outage: you can check its website for live fault maps, register for its priority services, and report damage directly rather than starting from a general helpline. Our page on how to check whether there is a power cut in your area covers the diagnosis stage in more detail.

Getting reconnected within 12, 24 or 48 hours according to conditions

Network operators do not have unlimited time to restore your supply. Ofgem's guaranteed standards set fixed deadlines that depend on the weather at the time of the fault:

The logic is that storm damage is harder and slower to repair: lines may be down across whole regions, and engineers must work through faults in order of safety. National Grid, restating the same standard, says that if your electricity supply fails because of a problem on its network during normal weather conditions, it must restore it within 12 hours¹⁸.

These deadlines matter for two reasons. First, they set the expectation for how long an outage may reasonably last, which is the number to plan around when sizing any home backup. Second, they are the trigger for compensation: miss the deadline and the operator owes affected households payments under the guaranteed standards, covered in detail on our page about power cut compensation and the Guaranteed Standards of Performance.

Operators prepare for storms in advance. Network operators arrange standby emergency teams and place vehicles and resources in strategic locations, like big substations, when a storm is forecast¹⁹. NIE Networks has a formal Emergency Response Plan that comes into effect when weather forecasts indicate severe weather is likely; it suspends normal activities, alerts partner organisations, and directs all resources to local incident centres in the affected areas²⁰. During Storm Éowyn, that plan was in effect from 23 January until power was restored to all homes and businesses, and the company expanded its contact centre into a second location in Belfast to increase call capacity²⁰.

How compensation is paid for extended power cuts

When an outage passes the qualifying threshold, the money comes from the network operator, not your supplier. Citizens Advice states it directly: your gas or electricity network operator is responsible for fixing power cuts and paying you compensation¹.

For ordinary unplanned cuts, no claim is needed. The local network operator makes an automatic payment within 10 working days¹. Where the operator holds the customer's bank details, it pays automatically⁴. Payment can be made through a cheque, cash or bank transfer⁴.

If the automatic payment does not arrive, the position is set out in the guidance:

• If the operator has not paid within the deadline, the rules provide for a claim to be made to it¹.
• If the payment has been missed, the operator may owe an extra £40⁴.
• Citizens Advice gives the same figure for storm power cuts: where payment has not been made within 4 weeks of the power coming back on, a claim can be made to the operator²¹.

The method of payment is flexible. Your electricity network operator will transfer the money into your bank account or send you a cheque¹. Ofgem adds that payment could also be made via your energy supplier, added to your energy account or prepayment meter⁵.

Two limits are worth knowing. Your electricity network operator does not have to give you compensation for damage to electronic devices after a power cut, though it may offer a goodwill payment²¹. And the deadlines and amounts described here are the Great Britain regime; Northern Ireland has its own arrangements, covered on our page about power cut compensation in Northern Ireland. For damaged appliances specifically, see compensation if a power cut damaged my devices.

First steps to take during an outage

The first minutes of an outage decide how smoothly the rest of it goes. The recommended sequence, drawn from official and operator guidance, is:

1. Check whether it is just your home. A quick look at street lights or neighbours' windows tells you whether the fault is on the network or inside your property. Our page on whether the cut is your property or the area works through this.
2. Report it, even if neighbours already have. If their power is also off, do not assume the network operator has already been notified; always call to let them know⁸.
3. Call 105 (or 03457 643 643 in Northern Ireland), which is free and puts you through to your operator³.
4. Turn off cookers, heaters and sensitive equipment, and leave one light switched on so you know when power returns¹⁴.
5. Keep the freezer door closed and check on vulnerable family, friends and neighbours¹⁴.
6. Never touch damaged electricity equipment¹⁴.

Smart meter owners have a useful check here: Smart Energy GB advises calling 105 for free to report the cut or get updates²². If you rely on medical equipment, make sure you are on your operator's register before any outage, not during one; see help during a power cut if you rely on medical equipment.

One wider piece of context is worth knowing. In a severe generation shortfall, the Electricity System Operator, National Grid ESO, is responsible for ensuring there is enough power to meet demand and could instruct regional network operators to reduce demand through emergency power cuts²³. Those planned disconnections work on a rota, explained on our page about rota power cuts. In Northern Ireland, legislation requires the distributor to serve notice giving the reasons for a disconnection as soon as reasonably practicable after it happens²⁴.

Keeping clear of fallen cables and damaged equipment

Damaged network equipment is the one part of a power cut where the emergency services come first. If there is an immediate risk to life or someone is in danger, dial 999¹⁵. NIE Networks gives the same instruction for its area: if you see electricity lines that are down or causing significant risk to the public, call 999²⁵. UK Power Networks advises treating electricity cables as live, staying away, and calling it immediately on 0800 31 63 105 or 105, with 999 for lines down and causing significant risk to the public⁹.

The rules for households are consistent across operators:

• Treat every fallen or damaged cable as live, even if it looks inert⁹.
• Keep children and animals away, and do not attempt to move lines or clear debris near them.
• Report damage to lines and substations that could put anyone in danger by calling 105 immediately¹³.
• If using a generator during an outage, site it with plenty of air flow to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning¹⁴.

Generators introduce their own risks during an outage, from carbon monoxide to back-feeding the network, and our pages on generator safety and connecting a generator to a house cover the rules in full.

Getting ready for outages: lighting, frozen food and the priority services register

Preparation is the part of resilience a household controls entirely, and the operator guidance is consistent about what it involves. NIE Networks advises keeping a torch and batteries in the house, knowing where your fuse box is, being able to open electric gates manually, keeping an EV battery charged, and joining the medical care register if you rely on electricity for medical equipment¹⁴.

Food storage is the question most households ask first, and the guidance gives slightly different figures:

The Food Standards Agency position, as cited by National Grid, is that a fridge will keep food safe for up to four hours during a power outage provided the door is kept closed as much as possible¹⁸. Electricity North West's emergency guidance gives 4 to 6 hours in the fridge and 15 to 24 hours in the freezer if you can avoid opening them²³. The common instruction is the same in both: keep the doors shut. Our page on how long food lasts in a fridge or freezer during a power cut goes further.

For households that depend on electricity, the registers are the most important preparation. Energy network operators operate a Priority Services Register which can help support you if there is a power cut or other energy emergency⁶. The Met Office advises that if electricity is crucial for any medical equipment you have, contact your DNO at any time, as it may be able to put you on its priority register for assistance during any power outage⁸. For both planned and unplanned power cuts, network operators must offer customers on the priority service register extra help, for example giving them battery packs so they can still charge phones or medical equipment⁴. In Northern Ireland, NIE Networks holds a Medical Care Register for those who rely on electricity for healthcare needs²⁶, alongside its Critical Care information service for vulnerable customers¹⁴.

Eligibility and joining are covered in detail on our pages about the Priority Services Register and Priority Services in Northern Ireland. For the wider picture of what backup options exist and what each costs, start from backup power for UK homes.