Electricity North West: how to get connected

Electricity North West is one of the UK’s fourteen distribution network operators regulated by Ofgem, serving more than five million people in around two and a half million properties.

About Electricity North West

As its name suggests, Electricity North West serves customers in most of the North West of England. Its role is to make sure this part of the UK has access to electricity, which it sources mostly from the National Grid.

In the map below, you can see the area covered by Electricity North West, which covers an area stretching from Greater Manchester to the Lake District, as well as cities, towns and villages in between. It does not include the Liverpool area.

Electricity North West owns and maintains around 13,000 kilometres of overhead power lines, 44,000 kilometres of underground electricity cables, and more than 34,000 transformers. As we’ve mentioned already, the majority of its electricity is sourced from the National Grid.

Who is buying Electricity North West?

In July 2019, First State Investments and JP Morgan Asset Management, which had owned Electricity North West for over a decade, agreed to a deal to sell a 50% stake in the company. This stake was bought by Japanese infrastructure investment firm Equitix and a consortium of investors led by Japanese power firm Kansai Electric Power.

Kansai’s involvement in the deal made it the first instance of a Japanese electric utility company entering an overseas distribution network operator market. Hiroshi Nakajima, a managing executive from the company, said that this new partnership would look to “proactively address the current challenges to distribution networks which include smart cities, electric vehicles and virtual power.”

Who is my supplier?

If you’re not sure who your energy provider is, it’s certainly not Electricity North West. Your provider is the company you pay your electricity bills to, which in turn pays Electricity North West (if you live in the area covered by it) to use the network to supply your home or business.

Power cuts

Experiencing a power cut? If so, you should call the distributor for your area to report it. If in doubt about which distribution company is responsible for the network in your area, call 105 and you’ll be patched through to the relevant entity.

If your operator is Electricity North West, you can call the company directly on 0800 195 4141. Both of the above numbers are free to call.

During a power cut, we recommend that you:

• Check the street lights outside or with your neighbours to make sure the outage isn’t only affecting your property.
• Make sure that the trip switch in your fuse box is turned on. If it isn’t, make sure all your appliances are turned off and then reset it.
• Turn off all computers, digital media devices and other sensitive equipment.
• Avoid opening your freezer - some freezers can stay cold up to 12 hours after losing power if you leave them unopened. If your food goes bad, you may be able to claim it back on your home insurance.
• If you have vulnerable neighbours and you’re able to, call in on them to check they’re warm enough and that any medical equipment they rely on is working.

Live power cut map

For information on power cuts in the North West, you can access Electricity North West’s live power cut map on its website. In order to do this, simply go to the distributor’s homepage, hover the mouse over the Power Cut dropdown menu and click the Live power cut information option.

In this section, you can search using your postcode or a reference number (at the bottom of the page) or you can look at live power cuts, planned power cuts, resolved power cuts or cancelled power cuts. Each entry in the list provides the time and date that the outage was registered, the area of the outage, and an estimated time of resolution.

Connection services

Whether you’re looking to get a property (or properties) connected to Electricity North West’s network, or you want to modify an existing connection, you can do so via its website. Applications can be made in three ways:

• Via its online application service, which can get you a quote immediately
• By filling out its online form to submit a connection request
• By filling out a PDF form which you can either email or post to ENW

Prices vary depending on what kind of connection you’re looking to apply for, but the average price to connect 1-4 properties with Electricity North West is £1,500 excluding VAT. For 5 or more connections, large connections over 300kVA or other types of connections, you’ll need to get a quote that is tailored to your needs.

Don’t live in the Electricity North West area?Find your distributor now so that you can get connected: Scottish and Southern Energy Networks, SP Energy Networks, Western Power Distribution, UK Power Networks, Northern Power Grid.

Once you’re connected, you’ll need to register with a licensed electricity provider. We recommend doing a bit of research before you choose one so that you get the deal that’s right for you. Here are a few guides to help you decide:

• Best energy supplier
• Cheapest electricity supplier
• UK energy suppliers
• How to compare suppliers
• Business energy

Contact

There are a number of ways you can get in touch with Electricity North West depending on your issue.

Emergencies

In case of an electrical emergency or a power cut, you should contact your electricity network distributor. You can do so by calling 105, which will redirect you automatically to your local distribution network operator.

General inquiries

If you live in the catchment area, the Electricity North West contact number is 0800 195 4141. This is the number to call for general enquiries, compliments and complaints. You can also send these via email at [email protected] or by completing its online inquiry form.

If you’re looking for a more immediate response to your inquiry, you could try messaging them on Facebook or Twitter.

Head office address

Electricity North West’s main trading address is Borron Street, Stockport, SK1 2JD.

Jobs

If you’re looking for a career with Electricity North West, there are a few ways you can get started. Here are the pathways into a job with ENW:

• Craft apprenticeships
• High-level engineering apprenticeships
• As an experienced professional in areas as varied as accounting, administration, customer support and IT.

The Electricity North West careers site offers prospective employees an insight into the company’s business, a glimpse into life working for the company, a look at development opportunities and a search function to look for current openings to suit you.

Users can also create a profile with a CV attached and be kept up to date with the latest job posts, so you need never miss an opportunity to apply.