Power cut compensation rules in plain English
If a fault cuts your power for 12 hours or more, your electricity network operator usually owes your household £100, and £45 more for every further 12 hours. Severe weather and very large cuts have their own lines and sums.
These payments are Ofgem's Guaranteed Standards, which every electricity network operator in Great Britain must meet. The sums here apply from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
The lines
| Situation | Pays from | First payment | Then | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal weather, fewer than 5,000 premises | 12 hours | £100 (business £195) | £45 per further 12 hours | none |
| Normal weather, 5,000 or more premises in one incident | 24 hours | £100 (business £195) | £45 per further 12 hours | £400 on the further payments |
| Severe weather, category 1 | 24 hours | £90 | £45 per further 6 hours | £2,235 in total |
| Severe weather, category 2 | 48 hours | £90 | £45 per further 6 hours | £2,235 in total |
The sums are Ofgem's, checked on against the sources below.
"Normal weather" is the usual case: a fault on the network, not caused by a storm. A "large incident" is one that cuts off 5,000 or more premises at once; it pays from 24 hours instead of 12.
Severe weather is decided by fault counts, not storm names
An operator can class a day as severe weather when the number of faults on its high-voltage network in 24 hours is far above its daily average: category 1 is at least 8 times the average (or 8 to 13 times for weather other than lightning); category 2 is 13 times or more. A named Met Office storm does not by itself make it severe weather, and a quiet day with lightning can. The operator makes the call, which is why this site shows every possibility rather than one figure.
In severe weather the first payment is smaller and comes later, but the further payments come every 6 hours rather than every 12, and the cap is much higher.
Worked examples
- Off for 36 hours under a normal fault: £190 (£100 first, then £45 for each further 12 hours).
- Off for 72 hours under a large incident (5,000 or more premises): £280 (£100 first, then £45 for each further 12 hours, capped).
- Off for 60 hours under severe weather category 1: £360 (£90 first, then £45 for each further 6 hours, capped).
- Off for 60 hours under severe weather category 2: £180 (£90 first, then £45 for each further 6 hours, capped).
Other standards that pay
- Four or more cuts in a year. Four separate cuts of three hours or more between 1 April and 31 March: £100. This one is never automatic: you must ask by 30 June after the year ends, with the dates.
- Planned work without notice. The operator must give two days' notice of a planned cut. If it does not, or cuts you off on a different day: £40 (business £80). Ask within a month.
- Late payment. A standard payment not made within 10 working days adds £40.
- Rota disconnections, fuse call-outs, voltage complaints and missed appointments have their own standards; the operators' scheme documents list them.
What is not covered
- Cuts caused by a national shortage of electricity, or by faults in your own wiring or a private network.
- Damage to appliances or food. These payments are a fixed sum for losing supply, not compensation for loss. Operators sometimes make goodwill payments; home insurance may also help.
- Cuts on an operator's network that it could not reach because of a danger it did not cause, in some severe-weather cases.
- Gas, water and supplier billing problems: different rules, different regulators.
Deadlines
- Restoration payments: usually automatic. If you are not on the Priority Services Register and nothing arrives, ask within 3 months of the power coming back.
- Four-cuts payment: ask by 30 June after the year ends.
- Planned-work notice: ask within one month.
Sources
- Ofgem: check if you can get a payment for a power cut
- Ofgem: adjustments to the Guaranteed Standards of Performance, 2026 (the sums from 1 April 2026)
- The Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2015, as amended in 2023 and 2024
- Citizens Advice: get compensation if you have a power cut
Checked . Ofgem raises the sums with inflation every 1 April; this page is re-checked then.