What to do in an electricity or gas emergency.
How to report a gas leak.
If you smell gas or suspect a gas leak at your property, then call the National Gas Emergency Helpline immediately on:
Don't go back inside until you've been given the all clear
What to do when you suspect a gas leak:
Open windows and doors.
Turn off your gas supply at the meter (unless it’s in the cellar or basement).
Turn all gas appliances off.
Don't use light switches, doorbells or any electrical switches.
Don't smoke, light matches or use cigarette lighters.
Put out any naked flames, such as candles.
How to turn off the gas supply:
You'll need to use the handle that is attached to the Emergency Control Valve (ECV). You'll normally find this next to the meter.
When the ECV is on it'll be in line with the pipe and valve.
Turn the ECV handle a quarter turn to the level is at 90 degrees to the ECV's body.
If the ECV is stuck or too difficult to move then you should evacuate.
How to report a power cut.
If your electricity supply has gone off, then rather than speaking to your electricity supplier, you'll need to talk to your distribution network operator.
They'll be able to help in an electrical emergency, give you the information you need and get your power back on.
How to check it's a power cut.
When your electricity goes off it could be caused by a power cut or a fault in your property. The easiest way to check which it is, is to see if your neighbours still have electricity. If they don't, then it's a power cut.
If it's a fault in your home then your trip switch may have turned itself off. It does this to protect you from getting injured by a faulty appliance. Once you've identified the appliance you can turn the trip switch back on. If you still have problems, then you'll need to speak to a qualified electrician.
Electricity emergencies with a prepayment meter.
If it's not a power cut and you have credit on meter, then you'll want to speak to our prepayment team on 0808 501 5200.
Electricity emergencies with a credit meter.
Check that your fuses, circuit breakers, trip switches and isolator switches are all in the on position, if not, reset them.
If you still haven't got power, or one or more of your trip switches keeps on tripping, then there is likely to be a problem with one of your appliances or part of the internal wiring.
To find out which appliance or area of wiring may be at fault, turn everything off, reset all your trip switches, and slowly switch everything back on one room at time.
After identifying the problem, you’ll need to ask a qualified electrician to investigate further. If an appliance is at fault, and still within warranty, you should contact the retailer or manufacturer.
Nationwide planned emergency power cuts.
To help manage the national electricity supply, if the National Grid can’t generate enough electricity to meet predicted demand, the government may need to carry out a planned emergency power cut, also called a Rota Load Disconnection (RLD).
These are unlikely, and if needed will be publicly announced up to 2 days before any scheduled outage. In most cases, power supplies will be interrupted for around 3 hours at a time and you can find out more about how planned emergency power cuts would work.
Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous gas that has no smell or taste. It’s extra dangerous because breathing it in could kill you.
We don’t want that to happen, so we’ll help you identify its signs.
Incorrectly installed, badly maintained or poorly ventilated household appliances that use gas, oil, coal or wood are the most common sources of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Since 2015, if you live in a rental property in England, it's a legal requirement for your landlord to install a smoke alarm on every floor of the premises and a carbon monoxide detector in rooms containing solid fuel appliances.
Don’t take any chances, if you’re worried about carbon monoxide leaking from a gas appliance, call:
How to tell if you've got a carbon monoxide leak.
The first thing to do is make sure that you have a carbon monoxide detector fitted with an audible alert. There are also tell-tale signs that you can look for:
The pilot light keeps going out.
Yellow or brown stains on or near an appliance.
A yellow flame instead of a blue flame (apart from flueless fires).
More condensation than is normal on the inside of your windows.
What to do if you think you have a carbon monoxide leak.
Turn off the affected appliance and don't use it again until it's been checked by a Gas Safe engineer.
Open all your windows and doors.
Don't smoke, light a match or anything else that could cause a spark.
Talk to your GP if you're feeling unwell. You can ask for a blood or breath test to check for carbon monoxide poisoning.
If someone in your property feels unwell, take them outside and either call 999 or go to your nearest hospital.
What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be very similar to many common illnesses like flu or food poisoning, so make sure you tell your GP if you think it could be carbon monoxide poisoning.
Common symptoms can include:
Headaches.
Dizziness.
Feeling or being sick.
Tiredness or drowsiness.
Stomach pain.
Difficulty breathing.
The longer you breathe in carbon monoxide, the worse your symptoms will get. Severe symptoms can include:
Confusion.
Memory loss.
Co-ordination problems.
Personality changes or unusual behaviour.
Tachycardia (a heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute).
Chest pain caused by angina or a heart attack.
Seizures or muscle spasms.
Loss of consciousness.
Even small amounts of the gas can cause poisoning, and long term exposure to it can result in paralysis and even brain damage.
Be aware that babies, young children, pregnant women and people with heart or breathing problems may be affected by carbon monoxide more quickly than others.
Other emergencies.
If you’re experiencing another energy emergency or urgent energy-related question or concern, contact us and we’ll sort it out.
We're always still here for you after 5pm or over the weekend if you need to report an emergency with your prepayment or credit meter. You can either call 0808 501 5088, or you can email us or get in touch on our social media channels.