105
Free national fault line
Free, 24/7
Electricity North West
Your DNO
serves Greater Manchester
32+
towns covered
incl. Manchester, Salford, Bolton
£95 to £390
Ofgem compensation
for a long unplanned cut
Live outage map for Greater Manchester
The map shows incidents reported by users in real time, centred on Greater Manchester. Zoom in on your street to check whether a cut is your home only or a wider network fault — when neighbours are also dark, it is a Electricity North West job.
Mostly built-up urban basin between the Peak District foothills (Saddleworth, Tameside) and the West Pennine Moors (Bolton, Rochdale). Weather rarely takes out the city centre — but the moorland edges of Saddleworth, Marsden and Diggle see overhead-line snow damage every winter.
Live Power Outages in the UK
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Reports across Greater Manchester
Logged by residents of the county in the last 24 hours.
No resident has logged a cut in Greater Manchester in the last 24 hours. Our feed only knows what people tell it, so an unreported fault is still possible. For the confirmed picture, check the Electricity North West live fault map with your postcode, then add your report so your neighbours can see it.
Report a power cut in Greater Manchester
Seeing a cut the map hasn't caught yet? Add it in seconds. Your report is anonymous and appears on the live map above so neighbours in Greater Manchester know what's going on.
Thank you. Your report has been submitted and will help others in Greater Manchester.
Reports are anonymous. We use your address to place the marker on the map and never display your personal details.
Power cuts by town in Greater Manchester
Pick your town for local outage reports, the live map and your network operator's fault line.
Your village is not on the list? Greater Manchester has far more settlements than we hold pages for, and they all sit on the same Electricity North West network: the number to call is the same 105, and the live map above covers the whole county — zoom in on your postcode. For a street-level answer on a hamlet, enter your full postcode in the Electricity North West live fault map.
Why the power goes out in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is the densest urban network inside Electricity North West's licence area, covering ten metropolitan boroughs with around 2.8 million people. Mostly built-up urban basin between the Peak District foothills (Saddleworth, Tameside) and the West Pennine Moors (Bolton, Rochdale).
Weather and terrain. Weather rarely takes out the city centre — but the moorland edges of Saddleworth, Marsden and Diggle see overhead-line snow damage every winter.
How the network is run. ENW operates from Stretford, Stockport and Bolton depots. Manchester city centre has triple-redundant ring-main feeds; the moorland edges are single-feeder overhead.
A local quirk worth knowing. Manchester's Hulme and Ancoats apartment blocks include some of the largest single-customer power demands in the North West — a substation fault here affects thousands of dwellings simultaneously.
What to do when the power goes out at home in Greater Manchester
Check whether neighbours are affected
Look at the street lights and the houses opposite. If they're on, your fault is inside your home — check the consumer unit. If they're out too, it is a Electricity North West network fault: call 105.
Dial 105
Have your full postcode ready. Ask the operator for an estimated time of restoration (ETR) and a fault reference number — both make any later compensation claim faster.
Unplug sensitive electronics
Unplug TVs, routers, computers and consoles to protect them from a surge when supply returns. Leave one light switched on so you'll know visually when the power is back.
Log start and end times
Under Ofgem's Guaranteed Standards, a fault affecting fewer than 5,000 properties entitles a household to £95 once the supply has been off for more than 12 hours (24 hours for a larger fault), then £45 for each further 12 hours, capped at £390. Storms use a separate scale: £85 plus £45 every 6 hours, capped at £2,165. Keep a written log with photos — Electricity North West normally pays automatically.
The Selectra expert answers your questions on power cuts in Greater Manchester
Always to your Distribution Network Operator, not your supplier. In Greater Manchester that is Electricity North West. Dial 105 (Free national fault line) — free, 24/7.
Weather rarely takes out the city centre — but the moorland edges of Saddleworth, Marsden and Diggle see overhead-line snow damage every winter. ENW operates from Stretford, Stockport and Bolton depots. Manchester city centre has triple-redundant ring-main feeds; the moorland edges are single-feeder overhead.
There is no county-wide average worth quoting: a fault on an urban underground cable is often back within an hour or two, while an overhead line down in open country after a storm can take most of a day. The number that matters is the estimated time of restoration (ETR) Electricity North West publishes for your specific fault — ask for it when you call 105, or read it off the Electricity North West live fault map after entering your postcode. Planned cuts are announced in advance and normally run 2 to 8 hours.
Yes, under Ofgem's Guaranteed Standards of Performance. Where the fault affected fewer than 5,000 properties — most street-level cuts in Greater Manchester — a domestic customer gets £95 once the supply has been off for more than 12 hours, then £45 for each further 12 hours, capped at £390. Where more than 5,000 properties lost supply, that first £95 applies after 24 hours. Businesses start at £190. Four or more cuts of three hours or longer in a single year earn an extra £95. Payment from Electricity North West is normally automatic.
Electricity North West announces planned cuts by letter (and increasingly text or email) 2 to 8 days in advance. Most run 8am to 6pm and last 2 to 8 hours. Planned cuts do not qualify for compensation unless your operator failed to give adequate notice.
Power cuts in nearby areas
Other counties close to Greater Manchester — useful if your storm or fault crosses council boundaries.
Cheshire
SP Energy Networks
Lancashire
Electricity North West
Staffordshire
National Grid Electricity Distribution
West Yorkshire
Northern Powergrid
Merseyside
SP Energy Networks
Derbyshire
National Grid Electricity Distribution
Shropshire
National Grid Electricity Distribution
South Yorkshire
Northern Powergrid
Other counties served by Electricity North West
Same operator, same emergency number, similar restoration patterns and compensation framework.