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I've got no power supply, national grid confirm it's not a power cut and nothing odd on fuse box - How can I get help from OVO on the weekend?


We currently have no electricity supply, the national grid says it's not a power cut as our meter is still on, and we need to contact ovo however there shut, checked fuse box and still nothing, any help pleaseĀ 

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Best answer by Tim_OVO 16 June 2020, 16:33

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Updated on 18/09/23Ā by Abby_OVO:

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Sorry to hear you had some issues with your power supply over the weekend.

As you mentioned checking that this wasnā€™t caused by a power-cut (easiest way to do this is by calling 105), the next step would be toĀ check the fuse box.Ā If youā€™re not quite sure or spot an issue here, weā€™d recommend contacting an electrician who can help get your power back up and running.

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If the loss of power isnā€™t down to a power cut or issue with your fuse box, thereā€™s a chance that it might be an issue with your meter for which weā€™d have to arrange an emergency meter replacement. As you have found our phone lines arenā€™tĀ open over the weekend.Ā 

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Our Support teamā€™s web messaging and WhatsApp opening hours are:

  • 8am - 6pm Monday to FridayĀ 

  • 9am - 2pm on Saturdays

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Ā Our Support team can be contacted by phone on 0330 303 5063 between:

  • 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.Ā 

You can see all open contact channels via our Help Centre.Ā 

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If you need to contact the team on a Sunday, our Social team is able to support you. Send us a message on Facebook or Twitter from 9am - 5pm. This team is also able to schedule an emergency meter appointment if needed. More info on what to do in an emergency here.Ā 

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@Gem44 I can think of a few things to try:

First of all, some meter boxes were fitted with a cutout switch between meter and consumer unit, has yours got one of these and if so, is it definitely switched on?

Your ā€œfuse boxā€, is it a fuse box or a consumer unit?Ā  If a fuse box I assume you have checked all the fuses are OK.Ā  If a consumer unit are all the MCBs/RCDs all on?Ā  Sometimes when they trip they dont go all the way down and a cursory glance might miss them.

Have you got one of those devices for checking if water pipes or wires are in walls?Ā  If so, these can usually detect AC current so you could use it to see at what point the AC current disappears.

Finally, if you donā€™t consider yourself to be electrically competant, just call an electrician, donā€™t take any risks.

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Iā€™ve only just noticed that @Tim_OVO tagged me on your situation @Gem44.

Please give us an updateā€¦. assuming you have enough battery power to still do so.

It often helps if you can post a photo of your fuse-board/Consumer Unit. It saves you trying to use the right technical terms.

@Tim_OVOĀ @PeterR1947Ā @TransparentĀ thankyou for your replys all sorted now lightning had blew the fuse board šŸ¤¦ā€ā™€ļø

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Thanks for the updateĀ @Gem44

As it so happens, Surge Protection is one of my ā€œspecialist subjectsā€.Ā  :slight_smile:

Have a look what I posted on the Forum just yesterday in response to someone who had a trip that disconnected the EV Charger.

If youā€™d like to protect your house against lightning and other surges on the electricity wires, please feel free to ask for further information.

Had a total power loss in home. Emergency electrician canā€™t find anything in house or fuse board wring. No trips. Canā€™t access the new meter we had fitted though to check it.Ā 
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no weekend/emergency number and looking at a weekend without gas or electricityĀ 

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any suggestions

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Hi @radioratĀ ,

The Phones/Live Chat should be open now, please try the Support Team again and you should get through

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Could we please have an update on your situationĀ @radiorat ?

a: which Energy Supplier are you with? (This Forum is open to all!)

b: Are you on a credit meter with a monthly Direct Debit, or a pre-payment meter?

c: Can you confirm that gas and electricity were both lost simultaneously?

d: Why and when was a new meter fitted? And is it a Smart Meter?

e: What prevents you getting access to look at your meter(s)?

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Thanks.

All sorted. The external feed line had ceased to function. Supplier is currently digging up paving and hopefully not too much paving to replace. Theyā€™ve put temporary feed in for now

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Thanks for letting us knowĀ @radiorat .

So it will be your electricity Distribution Network Operator (DNO) who are undertaking that work. Which region are you in, or who is the company?

In case anyone else with a similar problem comes across this discussion in future, the hotline number for reporting a failed electricity supply cable is 105 regardless of your geographical location. This automatically connects you to the correct company.

When replacing cable it is usual to upgrade it to the latest/current specification. As more people will soon be driving electric vehicles, I anticipate you will get a 25mmĀ² cable. Thatā€™s the cross-sectional area of each conductor.

Do you yet know,Ā @radiorat if they are going to bring the new cable right up to your Service Fuse? Thatā€™s the large fuse-block with a metal-seal on it to prevent you removing it. Theyā€™re usually rated at 100A and will be close to the electricity meter.

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Yes, all done today.

Hi

can anyone help , there is no power cut as I have checked with 1 neighbour, all electricity has gone off and meter is also off , any ideas what this can be?

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Hey there @San001Ā !

Uh oh, thatā€™s not good! Firstly, please can you call 105 for Electricity andĀ 0800 111 999 for Gas. Theyā€™ll try to help you get the lights on again. Likewise, I can also assist to a degree.

The first thing I need to ask is who is your supplier please, along with whether youā€™re Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go. If you could also take some photos of your meters and pop those in your next reply, it will help me to assist you further.

Thanks

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As this is also what I consider an emergency scenario, I will monitor this thread more actively than I usually do. As such, I will check on this threadĀ roughly every 15-20 minutesĀ until you confirm that the power is back on or that youā€™ve been able to make arrangements. I will not reply every single time I check the thread to avoid flooding, but I will be here.

Please make sure youā€™re Subscribed to this thread using the Subscribe option below your first post. The star should be filled in and you will be notified of any replies that I post.

Thank you so much for both replies , we called out the electricity board who came very quick , it appeared a fuse had gone that was in a sealed area only they could get to so thankfully easily sorted and all working

thank you again for your supportĀ 

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No worries, thanks for confirming @San001Ā ! Iā€™m glad your safe at least.

If you ever need help again with anything else, please feel free to stop by the forum again. Weā€™re always happy to help out. Iā€™ll go ahead and mark this thread as Solved for now so that the status can be updated. :)

Have a great day!

Userlevel 7

Sorry to hear you had an issue with your supply over the weekend, @San001.

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Glad to see our friendly forum volunteer @Blastoise186Ā was on hand with some excellent support and you managed to get the issue sorted. Iā€™ve moved this thread over to a similar topic just to keep things tidy and help others who might have the same issue in future.

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Any other questions about using your Smart meters or online account, weā€™re always on hand here!Ā :blush:

Hey,

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Due to what ever reason my smart meter has not been connected to ovo and I have no way to top it up until an engineer comes out and tops it up, I expected one yesterday but stayed up until 2am and no one turned up.

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Does anyone know of an emergency number I can call or something so I'm not left with no heating for the next 3 days pretty urgent but I can't seam to find any help and live chat is not active.

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I donā€™t know if this will help but this was the answer to a similar question:

A quick mention here that any potential gas leaks or faulty electricity meters leaving you off-supply can be reported to the Gas emergency line or your electricity Distribution Network Operator, if they happen out-of-hours.
https://www.ovoenergy.com/emergency/

Call 105

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You can also try to top-up using the app and then punch in the UTRN Code to force the top-up through manually. That usually works even when the meter has no comms. Itā€™s very rare for that option to fail!

Thanks Blastoise, the issue I think is that ovo tried to set me up on direct debit on a pay as you go meter, I dont have a top up card number and can't make an account t to top up without it but to get the number my meter needs to be commissioned or something as its not reporting into ovo :/Ā 

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I was able to get a hold of someone in livechst who has arranged for an engineer to visit but half an hour has passed and I've not been contacted for a pre covid check before they send someone and all I've been given is the phone number for ovo which is not being answered as lines are closed, if its not sorted today ovo are closed for next 2 days, total nightmare

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Ah ok. If youā€™re quick, Live Chat is still open. OVO should be able to get someone out to resolve this for you today.

I donā€™t think theyā€™re doing covid checks anymore. Even the place I live at has terminated all covid related measures because my landlord has decided that the risk is basically gone. Itā€™s only really the NHS and a handful of other places still doing any measures at all at this point.

Been trying love chat for the last 40 minutes all I get is this message on various devices and browsers

I'm surprised there is no emergancy number I 100% expect np one is going to turn up like last night and then ill be without energy until minimum the 3rd just sucks man it's-6 right nowĀ 

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I guess youā€™ll just have to 105 it then for now. Unfortunately, barely any supplier has emergency numbers that work on a weekend

I was supposed to have an engineer visit yesterday before 6.30 to replace my gas meter which, in the heating engineers report he condemned for corrosion. Ā I was advised to shut off supply and boiler until replaced. Well long story short Iā€™m still waiting. Ā With no heating or hot water and I have my young kids this weekend. Ā How do I contact them on a weekend?

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