Power cut guide
Power Cut Compensation in the UK: How Much and How to Claim
Quick answer: In England, Scotland and Wales, a home that is off supply for more than 12 hours in normal weather is due £100 from the electricity network operator, plus £45 for every further 12 hours. Storms, planned cuts, repeated cuts and late fuse repairs have their own payments. Most payments are made automatically, but a few you must claim, and Northern Ireland has a separate, different scheme.
Is the power off where you are? See live power cuts from the network operators and reports from neighbours.
This guide is for anyone who has had a long or repeated power cut and wants to know what they are owed. It sets out every payment under the Guaranteed Standards of Performance, works through real-looking examples so you can check your own figures, and explains what to do if the money never arrives.
Who pays power cut compensation?
The payments come from your electricity network operator, the company that owns the cables, poles and substations in your area. It is not the energy supplier whose name is on your bill. Your supplier buys and sells the electricity; the network operator keeps it flowing and restores it after a fault.
If you are not sure which company is which, our guide to network operators and energy suppliers explains who does what. In Great Britain there are six operator groups covering 14 licence areas, and the free 105 number puts you through to the right one.
The rules are called the Guaranteed Standards of Performance. They are set by law and overseen by Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain. They are not a goodwill gesture, so an operator cannot simply decide not to pay if a standard has been missed and no exemption applies.
How much compensation for a power cut? The full table
These are the amounts that apply in Great Britain from April 2026, taken from Ofgem and the operators’ own Guaranteed Standards leaflets. “Further period” means each extra block of time you stay off supply after the first payment is triggered.
| Situation | When the payment is due | Home | Business | Automatic or claim? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal weather power cut | Off for more than 12 hours | £100, then £45 per further 12 hours | £195, then £45 per further 12 hours | Usually automatic |
| Large incident (5,000 or more properties) in normal weather | Off for more than 24 hours | £100, then £45 per further 12 hours, capped at £400 | £195, then £45 per further 12 hours, capped at £400 | Usually automatic |
| Severe weather, Category 1 | Off for more than 24 hours | £90, then £45 per further 6 hours, capped at £2,235 | Same as home | Usually automatic |
| Severe weather, Category 2 | Off for more than 48 hours | £90, then £45 per further 6 hours, capped at £2,235 | Same as home | Usually automatic |
| Multiple interruptions | 4 or more cuts of at least 3 hours each between 1 April and 31 March | £100 | £100 | You must claim, by the end of June after that year |
| Planned power cut without proper notice | Less than 2 calendar days’ notice, or the cut happens on a different day | £40 | £80 | You must claim, within 1 month |
| Operator’s fuse fails | Not attended within 3 hours (weekdays 7am–7pm) or 4 hours (weekends and bank holidays 9am–5pm) | £40 | £40 | Usually automatic |
| Guaranteed payment made late | Payment not made on time | Extra £40 | Extra £40 | Usually automatic |
Being on the Priority Services Register does not change the amount you receive. The register gets you extra help during a cut, not extra money.
Worked examples: checking your own figures
The easiest way to work out what you are due is to find the point where the first payment kicks in, then count the complete extra periods after it. Here are some hypothetical cases.
Normal weather, small fault
- Off for 10 hours: under the 12-hour threshold, so no payment is due.
- Off for 18 hours: past 12 hours, so £100. The next 12-hour period would end at 24 hours, which you haven’t reached. Total: £100.
- Off for 30 hours: £100 for passing 12 hours, plus £45 for the further 12 hours from 12 to 24. The next period would end at 36 hours. Total: £100 + £45 = £145.
- Off for 48 hours: £100, then three further 12-hour periods (12–24, 24–36 and 36–48), so 3 × £45 = £135. Total: £235.
Normal weather, large incident
Say a single fault cuts power to 8,000 properties. The clock for payment starts at 24 hours rather than 12.
- Off for 20 hours: under 24 hours, so nothing is due.
- Off for 36 hours: £100 for passing 24 hours, plus £45 for the further 12 hours to 36. Total: £145.
- Off for 4 days (96 hours): £100, then six further 12-hour periods, or £270, giving £370. That is under the £400 cap, so you would get £370.
Storm conditions
Say a storm is declared Category 1 and you are off for 36 hours. You pass the 24-hour point, so £90, then two further 6-hour periods (24–30 and 30–36) at £45 each. Total: £90 + £90 = £180. Storm rules are explained in detail in our guide to storm power cut compensation.
Tip: Write down the time your power went off and the time it came back, and take a photo of any message from the operator giving those times. If your figures and the operator’s differ, a note made at the time is far more persuasive than memory.
If you want a sense of how often cuts reach these thresholds, our guide on how long power cuts last explains typical restoration times and why some faults take longer.
Automatic payments and the ones you must claim
For most standards you do not need to fill in anything. Once the operator has restored everyone and checked its records, it works out who is owed money and pays them. Payment can arrive as a cheque, a bank transfer if the operator has your details, or a credit through your energy supplier, sometimes onto a prepayment meter.
Ofgem’s advice is that operators deal with getting everyone back on supply first and sort payments afterwards. After a big storm that can mean a wait of weeks or a few months.
There are two payments you must actively claim:
- Multiple interruptions (£100). The operator may not link several separate cuts to your address, so you need to tell it. Give your address and the dates of each cut. Claim by the end of June following the year that ran from 1 April to 31 March. Cuts you have already been paid for under another standard cannot be counted again.
- Planned cut without enough notice (£40 for a home). Claim within 1 month of the failure. Our guide to planned power cuts covers the notice rules and how to spot a valid claim.
It is also worth contacting the operator if your cut was confined to a small number of homes, or if you are not sure the operator knows exactly how long you were off. Some faults are fixed in stages, so neighbours on the same street can be restored hours apart.
What compensation does not cover
The Guaranteed Standards are fixed payments for missing a service standard. They are not designed to pay you back for what you lost. In particular, they do not cover:
- food that spoiled in your fridge or freezer
- damage to appliances or electrical equipment
- the cost of a hotel, takeaways or a hired generator
- lost earnings or business income
- cuts caused by a national shortage of power
For spoiled food, the place to look is usually your home contents insurance. Our guide on food lost in a power cut and insurance explains what policies may cover and the evidence to keep.
Operators can also be exempt from paying where events were outside their control, such as being unable to reach equipment because of flooding or fallen trees, or third-party damage. They have to show they took all reasonable steps. If you are told an exemption applies and you disagree, you can challenge it using the steps below.
What to do if you have not been paid
If a few months have passed and nothing has arrived, take these steps in order.
- Check you qualify. Use the table above, your own notes and our power cut compensation page to confirm the hours and the type of event.
- Contact the network operator. Call 105 or use the operator’s website. Give your address, the date and the times you were off. Ask whether a payment has been issued and how it was sent. If a cheque went astray or was sent to a previous occupier, say so.
- Ask about the late payment. If a payment that was due was not made on time, you may be owed an extra £40.
- Make a formal complaint. If you are refused or ignored, use the operator’s complaints process and keep a copy of what you send.
- Go to the Energy Ombudsman. If the complaint is not resolved after 8 weeks, or the operator sends a “deadlock” letter saying it cannot resolve it, you can take it to the Energy Ombudsman. It is free to use. The Energy Ombudsman has said this waiting period will be cut to 6 weeks, so check the current timescale on its website.
Where the disagreement is specifically about whether a Guaranteed Standards payment is due, operators’ leaflets also say you can ask Ofgem to make a formal decision.
Tip: Keep a simple record: the date, the times off and on, any reference number from your 105 call, and screenshots of the outage status. Our live power cut map shows the operator’s estimated restoration time for your postcode, which is handy to screenshot as you go.
Northern Ireland is different
The figures above apply only in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own standards, set by the Utility Regulator and paid by NIE Networks, and they work differently.
At the time of writing, NIE Networks’ customer standards say it aims to restore power within 24 hours, and a home is due £50 if it fails (£125 for a business), plus £25 for each further 12 hours. You must claim within 1 month of the day of the interruption, and severe weather can mean the standards do not apply. The Utility Regulator decided in July 2026 to raise these payments, but the change needs new regulations before it takes effect. Always check NIE Networks’ website for the amounts in force.
Our guide to power cuts in Northern Ireland covers the NI rules, the complaints route and the numbers to call.
Frequently asked questions
How much compensation do you get for a 24-hour power cut?
In normal weather, for a fault affecting fewer than 5,000 properties, a home gets £100 for passing 12 hours plus £45 for the next 12 hours, so £145 for a full 24 hours off. If the fault affected 5,000 or more properties, the first payment only becomes due after 24 hours, so you would need to be off for longer than that.
Do I have to apply for power cut compensation?
Usually not. Payments for long cuts, storm cuts and fuse failures are normally made automatically. You do need to claim the £100 multiple interruptions payment and the £40 payment for a planned cut without proper notice.
Does my energy supplier pay compensation for a power cut?
No. The network operator is responsible. Sometimes the operator pays through your supplier, so the money may show as a credit on your energy account, but the obligation sits with the operator.
Can I claim for food lost in a power cut?
Not from the network operator. The Guaranteed Standards payments do not cover spoiled food or damaged belongings. Check whether your home contents insurance includes freezer contents cover.
How long does it take to receive a payment?
For most standards, operators should send payment within 10 working days of becoming aware they missed a standard, and storm payments are made as soon as reasonably practicable. After a major storm with many thousands of homes affected, it can take a few months. If you have heard nothing by then, contact the operator.
Are vulnerable customers paid more?
No. The amounts are the same for everyone. Joining the Priority Services Register brings practical help during a cut, such as updates and welfare support where available, but not higher payments.
Your next step: note the times your power went off and came back, add up your entitlement using the table, and if a few months pass without payment, call 105 with your details ready.
Sources
- Ofgem u2013 Check if you can get a payment for a power cut
- SSEN u2013 Performance standards for demand customers 2026 (Guaranteed Standards leaflet)
- Energy Ombudsman u2013 20 things to know about Energy Ombudsman
- NIE Networks u2013 Customer standards
- NIE Networks u2013 Can I claim for freezer contents after a power cut?
Checked against these sources on 28 October 2026. Rules and amounts can change – your network operator or Ofgem has the final word. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.