Short answer
If the whole street is without power, it is the grid operator and you can report it or look it up on their outage map. If only your home is without power and nothing in the meter cupboard has tripped, it is usually the main fuse or the service head, and that is also the grid operator. If something has tripped in your own consumer unit, it is your installation.
Who this article is for For the moment everything goes dark. Here you read in two minutes who you need.
Step 1: look outside
Are the neighbours' lights on? Are the street lights working? Is there light across the road?
If the whole street is dark, it is the grid operator. You can report it to them; their outage map usually shows within a few minutes whether the outage is known and how long it will take. You do not need to call an installer, and there is nothing they can do about it anyway.
Step 2: look in your own meter cupboard
Only your house dark? Then look in the cupboard:
- Is an RCD down? Then that is the cause. See RCD keeps tripping.
- Is a breaker down? Then one circuit is off, not the whole house. See circuit breaker trips.
- Is the main switch off? Switch it back on once.
- Is everything on and there is still no power? Then it is before your meter cupboard.
Step 3: before the meter cupboard
The part from the street up to and including the main fuse belongs to the grid operator. It is sealed and I am not allowed to touch it, and neither are you. The grid operator replaces a blown main fuse, usually within a few hours and free of charge.
What you can do: see whether there is any discolouration and whether there is a smell of burning. If so, mention it straight away when you report it, then they come urgently.
What to do best in the dark
- keep the freezer and the fridge closed and leave them closed, then they easily last about eight hours
- switch heavy appliances off, so that not everything comes on at once when the power returns
- leave one light switched on, then you see straight away when it is back
- keep a torch by the meter cupboard, not in the loft
Four things that make the wait considerably more pleasant.
Recurring short interruptions
If the lights go off briefly and straight back on a few times a week, that is almost always the grid and not your installation. Note the date and time. With a list of five times, the grid operator takes it seriously.
If instead you notice lights dimming when an appliance comes on, that is a voltage dip in your own installation. Usually that is too heavy a load on too long a cable, and sometimes a bad connection. That is something for me.
From my own work
On a call-out in Meerssen the whole house was dark and the customer thought the consumer unit was faulty. In the grid operator's service head a main fuse turned out to have blown, on exactly the side the EV charger was on. That is work for the grid operator, so they were called. I did set up the load balancing afterwards, because the cause was on my side.
When to call an electrician
- Only your home is without power and everything in your meter cupboard is on
- There has been a smell of burning or a bang
- There is voltage, but appliances behave strangely, lights are too bright or too dim
After a bang or a smell of burning: do not touch anything and call. Outside office hours the fault service is ready.
Frequently asked questions
Who should I call in a power cut?
If the whole street is without power, the grid operator. If only your home is without power and nothing in your meter cupboard has tripped, also the grid operator, because then it is before your meter cupboard.
Can I replace the main fuse myself?
No, it is sealed. That is work for the grid operator and it usually costs you nothing.
How long will my freezer stay cold?
About eight hours if you keep it closed, and a well filled freezer longer than a half-full one.
Further reading
RCD keeps tripping: how to find the cause yourself
Usually it is one appliance and not your installation. In four steps you find out yourself which one, and you read exactly where it stops and you need to call.
Lights flickering or dimming: what it tells you
Flickering in one light is usually the bulb or the dimmer. Flickering throughout the house is a reason to measure.
The circuit breaker trips: overload or short circuit
A breaker that only trips after a while points to overload. If it trips straight away, it is a short circuit.
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