# Power cut help and a three-day home kit

> What to do the moment the power goes off, the government's three-day kit list sized for your home, payments you may be owed and how long fridge food stays safe.

- Canonical URL: https://powercutkit.co.uk/
- Source: [UK government, Be Ready: be ready for emergencies](https://beready.campaign.gov.uk/be-ready-for-emergencies/)
- Checked: 2026-10-25

This page includes a free interactive tool that runs in the browser and sends no data. The figures and rules it uses are the ones stated on this page, with their sources.

## A power cut in brief

- **Report it on 105** in England, Scotland and Wales: the free number puts you through to the company that runs the power lines in your area ([Ofgem](https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/check-if-you-can-get-payment-power-cut)). In Northern Ireland the number is 03457 643643 ([Be Ready](https://beready.campaign.gov.uk/be-ready-for-emergencies/)).
- **Keep doors shut.** A closed fridge keeps food safe for up to about four hours; a full freezer for about 48 hours, a half-full one for about 24 ([Food Standards Scotland](https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/consumers/food-safety/at-home/power-cuts)).
- **Stay safe.** Never bring a barbecue, camping stove or generator indoors: carbon monoxide can kill ([Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue](https://www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/storms-and-power-cuts/power-cuts/)).
- **You may be paid.** Homes cut off for more than 12 hours in normal weather get £100 from the network operator, usually without claiming (Ofgem).
- **Be ready for three days.** The government's Be Ready checklist asks every home to keep water, food, light, a battery or wind-up radio, a power bank, cash and copies of documents ([gov.uk](https://beready.campaign.gov.uk/be-ready-for-emergencies/)).

## What the app does

It starts with one question: what do you need right now?

- **The power has just gone off:** eight steps in the right order, from the fuse box to checking on neighbours, with the time noted for the other tools.
- **Build our three-day kit:** the official list with water, meals and warm layers worked out for the adults, children, babies and pets in your home.
- **Am I owed a payment?** Ofgem's guaranteed payments for normal faults and storms, from the hours you were without power.
- **Is the food still safe?** A fridge and freezer clock that keeps counting from the moment the power went.

## Read next

- [What to do in a power cut](https://powercutkit.co.uk/what-to-do-in-a-power-cut/) and [food safety](https://powercutkit.co.uk/food-in-a-power-cut/)
- [The three-day kit](https://powercutkit.co.uk/three-day-emergency-kit/) and [how to choose torches, power banks and radios](https://powercutkit.co.uk/choosing-your-kit/)
- [Payments for power cuts](https://powercutkit.co.uk/power-cut-compensation/) and [the Priority Services Register](https://powercutkit.co.uk/priority-services-register/)
- [Questions and answers](https://powercutkit.co.uk/faq/) and [our sources](https://powercutkit.co.uk/sources/)

Independent guide. Not a government website and not linked to any network operator, energy supplier or shop.

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Power Cut Kit · Contact: contact@powercutkit.co.uk