Power Cut at Home in Ashton-under-Lyne What to Do Step by Step

Published October 2026 | Power cut at home what to do step by step

This guide walks you through exactly what to do when you lose power at home - covering how to tell whether the fault is inside your property or out on the network, and what to do in each case. It's written for homeowners and tenants in Ashton-under-Lyne and across Greater Manchester who want clear, calm steps rather than vague advice when the lights go out.

Before You Start - Safety First

A power cut can feel alarming, especially at night, but in most cases it's either a tripped circuit breaker or a fault on the local electricity network - neither of which is dangerous in itself. What matters is how you respond.

Before you touch anything electrical, follow these rules:

• Do not attempt to open or tamper with any sealed electrical equipment, including your meter or the Distribution Network Operator's equipment outside your property.
• Stay well away from any downed power lines outside. If you see fallen cables near your home, call 999 immediately and keep everyone at a distance.
• Use a torch or your phone's torch rather than candles where possible. If you do use candles, keep them away from curtains and never leave them unattended.
• Turn off or unplug major appliances - televisions, computers, washing machines - to protect them from a power surge when electricity is restored.
• Leave one light switched on so you'll know the moment power comes back.

These precautions take less than two minutes and they protect both you and your appliances.

What You Will Need

You won't need any specialist tools for the initial checks, but having the following ready makes the process easier and safer.

• A torch or phone with a working battery - essential for checking your consumer unit in a dark hallway or cupboard
• A mental note of what was switched on - knowing which appliances were running when the power went helps identify a potential cause
• The number 105 saved in your phone - this is the free national power cut helpline that connects you to your local network operator
• The Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool - useful for narrowing down suspected internal faults before an electrician arrives
• Your postcode - Electricity North West is the Distribution Network Operator for Ashton-under-Lyne and Greater Manchester, and they'll ask for it when you report a fault

Time estimate: The initial checks in this guide typically take 10 to 20 minutes. If the fault turns out to be inside your property, a qualified electrician will usually need 1 to 3 hours to diagnose and resolve it, depending on the cause.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Work Out the Scale of the Outage

Before you touch your consumer unit, look outside. Are your neighbours' lights on? Are streetlights working? If other properties nearby are also in the dark, the problem is almost certainly on the network rather than inside your home. Selectra's guidance on power cuts makes clear that this single check - whether the outage is affecting your property alone or an entire area - determines everything that follows. If your neighbours have power and you don't, the fault is likely internal. Move to Step 2. If others are affected too, skip ahead to Step 4.

Step 2 - Check Your Consumer Unit

Your consumer unit - commonly called the fuse box - is usually located in the hallway, under the stairs, or in a utility room. Open the cover carefully and look at the switches inside. You're looking for either a tripped RCD (Residual Current Device) or a tripped MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker). A tripped switch will be in a middle or fully down position rather than firmly up.

Most modern consumer units in Ashton-under-Lyne homes have one or two large RCD switches on the left and a row of smaller MCBs to the right, each labelled for a circuit - "kitchen sockets", "upstairs lights", and so on. If the whole property has lost power rather than just one area, check the main switch at the top of the unit first.

Step 3 - Reset a Tripped Switch

If you can see a tripped switch, here's how to reset it safely:

1. Unplug or switch off the appliances on that circuit first. If it's the kitchen ring, unplug the kettle, toaster, and anything else on the worktops.
2. Push the tripped switch firmly to the off position, then push it back up to on.
3. If it trips again immediately, something on that circuit is faulty. Work through your appliances one at a time, plugging each back in individually, until you find the one causing the trip. That appliance needs testing or replacing.
4. If an RCD trips rather than a single MCB, this points to an earth fault somewhere on that group of circuits, which is more serious. Unplug everything on all circuits protected by that RCD, reset it, then re-introduce appliances one by one.
5. If the switch won't hold at all, stop here. Do not keep forcing it. This is where you need a qualified electrician.

If the switch holds after you've isolated the faulty appliance, power should be restored to that circuit. If the main switch trips or you simply can't identify any cause, move on.

Step 4 - Call 105 for Network Faults

If your neighbours are also without power, or your consumer unit looks completely normal with no tripped switches anywhere, the problem is likely on the wider electricity network. Call 105 - the free national number for reporting and getting updates on power cuts across the UK. Selectra confirms that 105 connects you directly to your local Distribution Network Operator, and you can also check their website for a live fault map showing affected areas near you.

For properties in Ashton-under-Lyne, Electricity North West handles network faults. Have your postcode ready when you call. They'll confirm whether there's a known fault, give you an estimated restoration time, and let you know whether engineers are already working on it.

Step 5 - Run a GoFIX Diagnostic for Internal Faults

If the fault is definitely inside your property and you can't identify a simple tripped breaker, the Voltrade GoFIX tool can help you narrow down the likely cause before an electrician arrives. You answer a short series of questions about what happened before the power went off, which circuits are affected, and any symptoms you've noticed - and GoFIX gives you a preliminary assessment to share with your engineer, saving time and often reducing diagnostic costs.

This is particularly useful for partial power losses - where, for example, your downstairs sockets have gone but your lights still work. Elec-Mate's guide to power cuts notes that an internal fault is the property owner's responsibility and requires a qualified electrician to investigate - it's not something to sit on.

Step 6 - Keep Food Safe and Stay Warm

While you're waiting for power to be restored, there are practical steps to take around the home.

• Food safety: Keep fridge and freezer doors closed. A full freezer will commonly keep food safe for around 24 hours; a half-full one for roughly 12. Only open the door if you have to.
• Heating: Most modern gas boilers require electricity to operate, so your central heating may be off even though your gas supply is fine. Layer up and use any battery-powered or gas appliances safely.
• Vulnerable neighbours: Check on elderly or vulnerable people nearby, especially in colder months. Ashton-under-Lyne has a mix of older housing stock and some residents rely heavily on electric heating.

Step 7 - Claim Compensation If the Outage Runs Long

If Electricity North West fails to restore power within the timeframe set out in the Guaranteed Standards of Performance, you may be entitled to compensation. Selectra's coverage of the 105 service outlines that customers commonly receive an automatic payment if an outage exceeds 12 hours, with further payments for each additional 12-hour period. Contact Electricity North West directly to make a claim, and keep a note of when the power went off and when it came back as evidence.

What to Do If This Does Not Fix It

If you've worked through every step above and still have no power - or if the same circuit keeps tripping - there are a few further things to consider before calling someone out.

Check whether your electricity meter has gone into prepayment mode or run out of credit. If you have a prepayment meter, the simplest explanation for a total power loss is sometimes just a zero balance. Top up via your supplier's app, a PayPoint outlet, or by phone - it takes minutes and costs nothing to check.

Think about whether any electrical work has been done on the property recently. New sockets, lighting circuits, or changes to the consumer unit can occasionally leave a wiring issue that only shows up under load later on.

If the problem is intermittent - power going off and coming back without any obvious cause - treat that as a warning sign, not a minor inconvenience. Intermittent faults are commonly caused by loose connections, an ageing consumer unit, or a deteriorating cable, and they can pose a fire risk if left uninvestigated. Our engineers have attended properties across Greater Manchester where an intermittent fault had been dismissed as "just one of those things" for months. Early investigation is almost always far less disruptive than the emergency repair that eventually followed.

When to Stop and Call a Professional

There are clear points in this process where DIY troubleshooting ends and professional work must begin. Call a qualified electrician when:

• You've reset the consumer unit but the breaker trips again immediately, even with appliances unplugged
• You can smell burning or see scorch marks near sockets, the consumer unit, or on any wall surface
• You have a partial power loss and no tripped breaker to explain it
• The fault is intermittent and you can't pin down a cause
• Your consumer unit looks old, shows signs of damage, or still has rewirable fuses rather than modern MCBs
• You're simply not comfortable working around electrical equipment - which is a perfectly reasonable position to take

Internal electrical fault investigation and repair must be carried out by a competent electrician. Elec-Mate's guidance is direct on this point: an internal fault is your responsibility as the property owner or occupier, and a qualified professional is who you need to resolve it.

In the Ashton-under-Lyne and wider Greater Manchester area, expect to pay in the region of 60 to 120 pounds per hour for a qualified electrician, or a fixed diagnostic callout fee that typically falls between 80 and 150 pounds. Consumer unit replacements commonly range from 500 to 900 pounds including parts and labour. Always get at least two quotes for anything beyond a simple diagnostic visit.

Questions About This Process

How do I know if my power cut is the network's fault or a problem with my own wiring?

The quickest way to tell is to check whether your immediate neighbours have power. If they do and you don't, the fault is almost certainly inside your property. If the whole street or area is affected, it's a network issue and you should call 105 to report it to Electricity North West, who cover Ashton-under-Lyne and the wider Greater Manchester network. Your consumer unit will also show no tripped switches if the fault is on the network rather than in your home.

Is it safe to reset my own fuse box?

Resetting a tripped MCB or RCD is safe to do yourself, provided you unplug appliances on the affected circuit first and follow the steps in this guide carefully. What you should not do is force a breaker that keeps tripping, open any sealed equipment, or attempt any wiring work yourself. If resetting the switch doesn't hold even with all appliances disconnected, the underlying cause needs a qualified electrician - don't keep trying to force it back.

How long can electricity networks legally take to restore power before I'm owed compensation?

Under the Guaranteed Standards of Performance, your Distribution Network Operator is typically required to restore supply within 12 hours for most unplanned outages. If they miss that window, you're usually entitled to an automatic compensation payment, with further payments for each additional 12-hour period the outage continues. Severe weather events operate under separate rules that allow longer restoration times. Contact Electricity North West directly if you believe a payment is owed to you.