Norwich · Norfolk

Power Cut in Norwich? First Steps and Who To Call

Before you pay an out-of-hours call-out fee, spend five minutes working out whether the fault is yours to fix or the network's.

Step 1: Is it just you?

Look at street lights, ask a neighbour, check with homes on a different phase. If the whole street is dark, it is a network fault — not your wiring, and not billable to you.

Step 2: Call 105

105 is the free national power cut line, run by the network operators. In Norfolk the distributor is UK Power Networks. They will log the fault and give restoration estimates. Storm damage and overhead line faults in rural Broadland and South Norfolk commonly cause area outages.

Step 3: If it IS just your property

Go to the consumer unit:

1. Check whether the main switch has tripped or the RCD row is down. 2. Try a full reset: switches off, then on, main switch last. 3. If the RCD trips again immediately, unplug everything, reset, then plug appliances back in one at a time — the culprit announces itself. 4. If it trips with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the fixed wiring or the unit itself. That is an electrician job — stop resetting repeatedly and book an emergency visit.

Step 4: Know your consumer unit

Modern units have RCBOs (one switch per circuit). Older Norwich terraces may still have rewireable fuses — if you have those, repeated blowing means the circuit needs professional attention, not a bigger fuse wire.