Home Q&A: The fastest way to report a power cut

The easiest place to check for and report an outage or issue is at PowerCheck. Be sure to have your 11-digit MPRN number ready or your Eircode. You can access it using your mobile phone. File picture

Question

What's the fastest way to report a power cut?

Answer

First of all, we report faults and emergencies to ESB Networks, not our supplier. It's ESBN who maintains the infrastructure. 

If the power dies, check your fuse box first to ensure nothing has tripped, and if it has, try resetting it. 

If you report a fault and ESBN attends, and it’s found to be an issue within the home, you will be charged a call-out fee of €136. See if your neighbours have power, as you will be asked by the prompt when reporting the fault. 

The easiest place to check for and report an outage or issue is at PowerCheck using your mobile phone. Have your 11-digit MPRN number on hand or your Eircode (I’ve found both to work). 

Before you report the fault, scroll into the PowerCheck map, which shows both reported and established current faults and planned outages in real time. This may show that your area has a reported fault already (a red exclamation mark) and will give an estimated restore time. 

If you don’t see any fault, there are a few simple instructions at PowerCheck to direct you to the right place to enter the fault report. Once you enter your details, you’ll be told by an automated voice if there is a fault logged for your area already. You can sign up at Keep-Me-Notified for an SMS or email message for updates and the probable restoration time for your supply (this is often overestimated, and the power may return sooner). 

ESBN will never ask for personal details — be wary of potential scam SMS or emails. The 24/7 emergency number for ESBN is 1800 372 999, Powercheck.ie.

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