News from Citizens Advice Swale January 2026

Are you worried about losing power due to stormy weather? Power cuts can be unexpected and worrying, especially if your power doesn’t come back on quickly. It’s good to know who to report an outage to and what you can do to prepare.

If you lose electricity, your electricity network operator is responsible for fixing it. To report an outage, call 105 - a free line that puts you through to your electricity network operator.

In most cases, it’s your electricity that will go off in a storm, but it can seem like your gas is disrupted because you usually need electricity to start up a gas boiler. If you smell gas or your carbon monoxide detector is beeping, turn off the boiler, go outside, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

You might be entitled to compensation if a power cut isn’t fixed within 24 hours. Some power cuts are planned, and you should be told in advance if there’s going to be one in your area.

After an unexpected outage, your power might not come back on straight away. Here’s a checklist of things you can do to prepare for the worst:

• Check you’ll be able to keep warm. Make sure you have access to blankets and extra layers. You might want to plan to stay with friends or family.
• Check you’ll have a way to contact people. Charge devices like mobile phones, and write down important phone numbers and keep them safe - an analogue phone line might still work during a power cut.
• Have food at home which you can easily eat. Stock food with a long use-by date, like tinned fish, beans and soups.
• Check if you can sign up to the Priority Services Register (PSR). This can give you extra support during a power cut. You might be able to sign up if you’re disabled, pregnant or have young children. See the full list of eligibility criteria and how to sign up on the PSR website.

We have specialist advisers at Citizens Advice Swale who can help you with energy issues. Contact us to find out more.

How can we help you?

Drop-in sessions (no appointment necessary):

Sittingbourne

Mondays 10am-12pm - Swale House

Tuesdays 11.30am-1.30pm - Murston Family Hub

Sheppey

Tuesdays 10am-12pm - Sheppey Gateway (except the second Tuesday of every month, which is held at Sheerness East Working Mens Club)

Faversham

Wednesdays & Fridays 10am-12pm - 43 Stone Street, Faversham

Thursdays 10am-12pm - West Faversham Community Centre

Telephone advice: Call Adviceline on freephone 0808 278 7979 (Monday-Friday 10am-3.30pm)

Email advice: Contact us online at www.citizensadviceswale.uk/email-general-advice

Specialist debt advice: Request a call back at www.citizensadviceswale.uk/debt

To stay up to date with our opening times, please visit www.citizensadviceswale.uk or follow us on Facebook.