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Planned Power Cuts
We're committed to providing you with a safe and reliable electricity supply and we invest approximately £300 million a year in improving our network and sometimes we need to switch off your electricity supply to do this safely. More than 90% of work is undertaken with the electricity switched on.
For some types of work such as repairing a fault, replacement and maintenance work, connecting a new supply and clearing trees/vegetation from overhead lines, we need to switch off the electricity to make sure we can carry out the works safely.
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Essential maintenance
We regularly carry out essential maintenance of our equipment to make sure it continues to operate and provide a reliable electricity supply to your area. To do this work safely we sometimes have to temporarily switch off the power.
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Repair a fault
When a fault occurs on our electricity network leaving customers without power, it’s important that we carry out repairs as quickly and safely as possible. On some occasions we will make a temporary repair to restore power and then we will need to come back and make a permanent repair at a later date. The work will be planned in advance and we will let you know that we need to temporarily turn off the power to complete the work.
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Connecting a new customer
Development and investment in local communities means that we may be asked to provide a new electricity connection by a customer or business in your local area. To do this we install new cables and substations and then connect them to the electricity network. Sometimes this requires us to turn off the power for a short period to complete the connection work.
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Tree Trimming
We sometimes need to cut back trees and other vegetation in your local area to keep them at a safe distance from our overhead power lines. This helps to prevent damage which can cause disruption to your electricity supply unexpectedly. This work ensures your electricity supply remains safe and reliable especially during periods of poor weather conditions, particularly strong winds. Sometimes we have to switch off the power to allow staff to undertake this work safely.
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Carry out reinforcement
Over time the demand for electricity grows and to accommodate this we need to increase the capacity of our network by upgrading the underground electricity cables, substations and overhead power lines. The use of new technology like solar panels may also require our network to be upgraded to make sure it works properly. This ensures that the network continues to operate reliably and safely. Sometimes this requires us to turn off the power for a short period to complete the upgrades.
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Refurbish and replacement at substations
We carry out refurbishment and replacement work at our electricity substation when the equipment becomes unreliable or obsolete. This work can be the complete replacement of a substation or just the electrical equipment inside it. This ensures that the network supplied by this equipment continues to operate reliably and safely. Sometimes this requires us to turn off the power for a short period to complete the work.
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Replacement of underground cables
We replace underground electricity cables when they become unreliable and uneconomic to repair. This ensures that the network supplied by this equipment continues to operate reliably and safely and to do this work we often need to dig up the pavement or road to install the new cables and sometimes we need to turn off the power temporarily to connect the new cable to the network.
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Move equipment to allow another organisation to work
There are also occasions where our electrical equipment has to be moved to enable changes or improvements to local roads and new developments such as housing. This means that sometimes we will need to turn off your electricity supply temporarily in order for our staff to work safely to complete this work.
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Replace or refurbish equipment on overhead power lines
To do this work we often need to dig up the pavement or road to install the new cables and sometimes we need to turn off the power temporarily to connect the new cable to the network. In order to ensure a safe and reliable electricity network we carry out replacement and refurbishment of overhead power lines when they become unreliable. Doing this work proactively makes our overhead network more resilient to severe weather events and helps to avoid faults on the network during such events. This means that sometimes we will need to turn off your electricity supply temporarily in order for our staff to work safely to complete this work
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Changes to your planned power cut
There are five main reasons why we may have to cancel a planned power cut, start a power cut early, or finish a power cut late these reasons are because of problems on the Network, Resourcing, Access issues, the weather or because of the impact on our customers.
You can read more information here.
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