Planned power shutdowns: what to consider for your home or business during planned outages

Planned maintenance is part of providing a safe, reliable power supply which means sometimes we'll need to shut your supply down for our crews to work safely on lines.

Our planned work includes notification to our customers of when their power will be off. This includes dates and times and comes by mail several days prior to the shutdown period. You can check for updates on our website. 

We try to keep shutdowns to a minimum. Generally, they affect a single day or part of a day, however where there is major maintenance or upgrade work, customers may be affected more than once over a given period. A separate notification is sent each time power is affected.

As our line work does not include providing generators to individual customers or businesses or cover customer insurance matters, we ask all our customers to plan and do what's needed for their home or business while without power:  

• Be safe. Treat all lines as live at all times.
• If you're medically dependent on power make sure you're registered with us. You need to be prepared and implement your personal safety plan during a power outage. Call 0800 367 546 if not already registered.
• If your property has an internal meter board it is very likely a safety check is needed before we can switch the power back on following a shutdown. To avoid delays, this needs to be booked in with our Faults team and should be done by calling 0800 367 328 by no later 5pm the day before your scheduled shutdown.
• The contents of a full freezer are usually fine for up to 24 hours if left closed. Resist the temptation to open fridges and freezers to check as this reduces the length of time the contents remain cool or frozen.
• Turn off appliances or anything else you're concerned about at the wall.
• Water. Conserve it. If you have a pump it won't work when the power is off. Make sure you have a good supply of water on hand and that your hot water cylinder is full and heated before the power goes off.
• Check and fill your gas bottle if you intend cooking with it during a shutdown. Be safe when using gas. 
• If you're in business, review your continuity plans including making appropriate provision for perishables, alarm systems and other key items.