UK power cut statistics 2024/25: which areas lose power most
Short answer: In Great Britain in 2024/25, electricity customers had on average 39.7 power cuts per 100 customers, or about one every 2.5 years per home, and lost 35.1 minutes of supply each over the year (Ofgem, provisional, storms classed as exceptional events excluded).
From Ofgem's RIIO-2 Electricity Distribution annual report 2024 to 2025 (published January 2026), supplementary datafile, read 29 October 2026. Covers England, Scotland and Wales, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Findings you can quote
In Great Britain in 2024/25, electricity customers had on average 39.7 power cuts per 100 customers, or about one every 2.5 years per home, and lost 35.1 minutes of supply each over the year (Ofgem, provisional, storms classed as exceptional events excluded).
North of Scotland had the most time without power: 68.9 minutes per customer in 2024/25, 6.6 times as long as London (10.5 minutes), the lowest of the 14 areas.
North of Scotland had the most power cuts, 59.1 per 100 customers, against 11.2 in London: about 5 times as many.
5 of the 14 network areas lost more minutes per customer than the GB average of 35.1 minutes in 2024/25: North of Scotland, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, Central southern England, South West England, North East England.
Power cuts by area, 2024/25
Sorted by minutes lost. "Power cuts per 100 customers" counts planned and unplanned interruptions together; "minutes lost" is the average time each customer was without power over the year.
| Area | Network operator | Power cuts per 100 customers | Minutes lost per customer |
|---|---|---|---|
| North of Scotland | SSEN | 59.1 | 68.9 |
| Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire | Northern Powergrid | 54.7 | 51.2 |
| Central southern England | SSEN | 41.8 | 51.2 |
| South West England | National Grid Electricity Distribution | 59.0 | 50.4 |
| North East England | Northern Powergrid | 51.0 | 46.8 |
| Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and north Shropshire | SP Energy Networks | 28.6 | 34.5 |
| West Midlands | National Grid Electricity Distribution | 46.3 | 34.2 |
| East of England | UK Power Networks | 44.6 | 32.5 |
| South East England | UK Power Networks | 42.2 | 30.4 |
| South Wales | National Grid Electricity Distribution | 42.1 | 27.5 |
| North West England | Electricity North West (SP ENW) | 26.1 | 27.1 |
| Central and southern Scotland | SP Energy Networks | 31.3 | 25.8 |
| East Midlands | National Grid Electricity Distribution | 34.3 | 24.6 |
| London | UK Power Networks | 11.2 | 10.5 |
| Great Britain | All 14 areas (customer-weighted) | 39.7 | 35.1 |
What the numbers mean for your home
- An average year is short: the typical home loses well under an hour a year outside major storms. The long cuts come with storms, which these figures leave out.
- Rural and northern areas lose more: long overhead lines in the north of Scotland and the South West are more exposed to weather than London's mostly underground cables. That's our reading of the pattern, not an Ofgem statement.
- Be ready anyway: if you're in a higher-minutes area, keep a power cut kit and know your network operator.
- Long cuts can mean money back: see how much with our power cut compensation calculator (Ofgem 2026 amounts).
Method and limits
- Figures are Ofgem's Interruptions Incentive Scheme measures (CI = interruptions per 100 customers; CML = customer minutes lost), planned and unplanned added together, from the sheet "Ch2 outputs - reliability" of the supplementary datafile. We rounded to one decimal place.
- The Great Britain row is Ofgem's own total, which matches the customer-weighted average of the 14 areas.
- Severe weather exceptional events are excluded, and the 2024/25 figures are provisional (report, p14, footnote 6).
- Northern Ireland (NIE Networks) is regulated separately and not included. The 2025/26 report isn't out yet; we'll add it when it is.
- The "times as long" and "one every N years" figures are our arithmetic on Ofgem's numbers.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Ofgem, RIIO-2 Electricity Distribution annual report 2024 to 2025.
More: what to do in a power cut · power cuts near me (live) · blackouts this winter? · power bank runtime calculator · compensation calculator
Frequently asked questions
How often do power cuts happen in the UK?
In Great Britain in 2024/25, electricity customers had on average 39.7 power cuts per 100 customers, or about one every 2.5 years per home, and lost 35.1 minutes of supply each over the year (Ofgem, provisional, storms classed as exceptional events excluded). Northern Ireland is not covered by these Ofgem figures.
Which part of the UK has the most power cuts?
North of Scotland had the most power cuts, 59.1 per 100 customers, against 11.2 in London: about 5 times as many. North of Scotland had the most time without power: 68.9 minutes per customer in 2024/25, 6.6 times as long as London (10.5 minutes), the lowest of the 14 areas.
Do these figures include storms?
No. Ofgem's interruption figures leave out severe weather that it treats as an exceptional event, so the time lost in major storms is not in these numbers. The 2024/25 figures are also provisional until Ofgem finishes checking those adjustments.
Can I use these figures?
Yes. They are Ofgem's figures, reusable under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Please credit Ofgem's RIIO-2 Electricity Distribution annual report 2024 to 2025, and link to this page if our summary or table helped.
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