What to do if your electric goes off
It's a good idea to have a torch handy in case your electric goes off.
Check the following:
If you have a pay as you go meter, check your meter to make sure you are in credit.
That the street lights and your neighbours have power? If they are working, the fault is likely to be with your home.
Your fuse board.
You need to know where your fuse box and mains switch are so you're prepared if your electric supply goes off for any reason.
Your fuse box will either have fuses or trip-switches. Modern fuse boxes are fitted with a circuit-breaker fuse system.
If there's a fault, a switch is tripped and the circuit is blown. On older fuse boxes, there may be fuse holders - which must either be replaced when a fuse blows, if it's a cartridge, or rewired using special fuse wire of the correct amperage.
If you have a trip switch, check if any switches on the fuse box have turned to the ‘off’ position, and reset them to 'on'.
If a fuse continues to trip or blow, this may be due to a faulty electrical appliance.
In this scenario, unplug all of your appliances from their sockets, before plugging each appliance back in one at a time - and then switch it on again. This way, if the fuse blows again, you’ll know you've found the faulty appliance. It's best to get this appliance checked by a qualified electrician, or recycle it if it's beyond repair.
If you can’t find a tripped switch (or similar) in the fuse box, you may wish to check with your neighbours, as there may have been a power cut in your area.