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Power cut: reasons. What to do and how to fix it?
The power supply may be cut, which deprive your home or premises of electricity for a period of time. They can be due to different reasons:
- Power cut due to a fault in your home: there has been an incident in your home's installation.
- Power cut due to a fault in your building: there has been an incident in your building, you can check whether it affects the rest of your neighbours and common areas.
- Power cut scheduled by the distribution company: the distribution company carries out improvement work and of these cuts in advance.
- Power cut due to a fault in the transmission network: overloads in the grid or inclement weather can cause incidents that cause power cuts.
- Power cut due to non-payment: your power may be cut as a result of not paying your bills.
If your power goes out today you should do the following
The first thing you should do is find out the reason for the power cut. If it is a technical incident, you must make sure that you get the power back safely. That is, if there is a fault in your house or in your building, try to locate the reason and call in the professionals to repair it if necessary.
You can read some recommendations below:
- Always store torches and spare batteries in an easy to access place.
- Avoid using candles.
- Keep the fridge closed so that it doesn't lose its cold temperature and prevent your food from spoiling.
- Try to disconnect appliances that were connected to the mains when the power went out.
Determine the reason for the power cut
To determine the reason for the power cut, we recommend that you follow these steps:
- Check whether the fault comes from your home by trying to raise the circuit breakers in the fuse box. If that doesn't work, the fault is in your installation or your electricity has been cut off due to non-payment.
- Check that your other neighbours and the common areas of your building have power. If they do, it is an incident of your home (fault or non-payment). If they do not have power, the problem is the building.
If it affects more areas of your neighbourhood, it is a power cut that could be due to maintenance work being carried out by the distribution company or due to a problem with the grid. Distribution companies are obliged to inform of scheduled power cuts in advance (a minimum of 24 hours).
Power cut due to non-payment
There are several cases for which your power may be cut off due to non-payment:
- Not paying your electricity bills. Your supplier must have warned you of this situation and its intention to cut off your electricity in advance.
- Making an illegal connection without having a contract with a supplier. In this case, your supplier does not have to notify you that it will be cutting off the power.
- Illegally tampering with your electric meter. As in the previous case, no notice will be given.
- Your electrical installation does not comply with safety standards and poses a risk. In this case, the supplier is not obliged to notify you of its intention to cut the power in advance.
Notifications that your power will be cut off due to non-payment
If you do not pay your electricity bill, your supplier will send you a notification after the deadline for paying your bill. The format is usually postal letter, depending on your company and contract.
Once this notification has been sent, if the bill is not paid, the supplier will send you the notification of non-payment, usually by burofax or registered letter. This notification warns of the company's intention to cut off the supply on a certain date. If the bill is not paid upon receipt of this letter, a third burofax or registered letter will be sent announcing the power cut and the supply will be turned off.
The times will depend on which kind of market your contract is in:
- Deregulated market: the payment terms with respect to the date of issuance of your bill will be reflected in your contract. The cut-off period is also included in the contract.
- Voluntary price for small consumers: the payment period is 20 days from the date of issuance of the bill. Your power supply will be cut off 2 months after you receive the first notification.
There are certain consumers and certain situations in which your electricity cannot be cut off, such as, for example, those who receive the Social Bonus.
How to pay your outstanding bill
It is advisable to know how many bills are pending payment and their amount. Then contact the supplier to make the payment. At Endesa, you can check your outstanding bills and pay them instantly in your Customer Area.
Once the debt is settled, the supplier will take between 5 and 7 days to restore the supply.
Interest for late payment on the electricity bill
There is an extra cost to reconnect the power, which must be paid with the next bill. Its value is equivalent to twice the connection rights, in total approximately 20 euros.
Power cut due to a fault
To confirm that the power cut is due to a fault in the mains, you can call your local distributor. If you have E-distribution, this link includes the numbers you can call according to your location, 24 hours a day. They will provide you with information about the power cut and the estimated repair time.
Most faults are due to accidents on construction sites, storms or strong winds, fires, birds or tree branches that damage high voltage cables, or faults in parts.
Power cuts due to notice of maintenance work
These types of supply interruptions are frequent and are done to upgrade or improve the distribution grid. You will be notified about them in advance and given information on the areas that will be affected, the time of the power cut and the approximate duration. This notice can help you to organise yourself, knowing that you will be without electricity for a few hours.
Can I get compensation for a power outage that is due to a fault?
The Law includes a series of cases in which power cuts are justified, but if your supply is unexpectedly cut off and without cause, you can claim compensation from your distributor. You can also claim through your home insurance company, the Consumer Service Office (in person or via electronic means) or the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. You can also claim for possible damages to your appliances through your home insurance company.
You can claim your compensation based on where you live, the number of power cuts and how long they last. This box has all the details:
| Location | Number of supply interruptions per year | Duration of the power cut |
|---|---|---|
| Urban area | 10 | 5 hours |
| Semi-urban area | 13 | 9 hours |
| Concerted rural area | 16 | 14 hours |
| Dispersed rural area | 22 | 19 hours |
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You don't need to adapt to Endesa's tariffs because they adapt to you. If you go to our catalogue you can compare the different tariffs for yourself. Or if you prefer, you can answer a few questions and we will take care of comparing all the different electricity and gas tariffs and then make a customised recommendation.
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