Power Cuts

backfoot

These are the entitlements to Compensation:


Regulation 5 - Supply Restoration during Normal Weather
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]If your electricity supply fails during normal weather conditions because of a problem on our distribution system we will restore it within 18 hours of first becoming aware of the problem. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]If we fail and you make a valid claim within three months of the date the supply is restored, we will arrange for you to receive £54 if you are a domestic consumer or £108 if you are a business consumer. You will also receive a further £27 for each additional 12 hours you are without supply. [/FONT]
[/FONT]Regulation 6 - Supply Restoration during Normal Weather – Incidents affecting 5,000 customers or more.
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]If your electricity supply fails during normal weather conditions because of a single incident on our distribution system affecting 5,000 premises or more, we will restore it within 24 hours of first becoming aware of the problem. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]If we fail and you make a valid claim within three months of the date the supply is restored, we will arrange for you to receive £54 if you are a domestic consumer or £109 if you are a business consumer. You will also receive a further payment of £27 for each additional 12 hour period that you are off supply up to a maximum of £216. [/FONT]
[/FONT]Regulation 7 - Supply Restoration during Severe Weather

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]If your electricity supply fails because of a problem on our distribution system due to severe weather we will restore it within the period prescribed by the Regulations dependent upon the scale of the event:-
[/FONT][/FONT]

Category of severe weather

Definition
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Category 1 (medium events) [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Lightning events - when a distributor experiences at least 8 times the normal amount of faults in 1 day – supplies will be restored within 24 hours [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Non-lightning events - when a distributor experiences between 8 and 13 times the normal amount of faults in 1 day – supplies will be restored within 24 hours [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Category 2 [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial](large events) [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Non-lightning events - when a distributor experiences at least 13 times the normal amount of faults in 1 day – supplies will be restored within 48 hours [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Category 3 [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial](very large events) [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Any severe weather events where at least 35% of exposed customers are affected – supplies will be restored within a period as calculated using a formula based on the number of customers affected as set out in the Regulations [/FONT][/FONT]

If we fail and you make a valid claim within three months of the date the supply is restored, we will arrange for you to receive £27 (for both domestic and business consumers). You will also receive a further £27 for each additional 12 hours you are without supply. The maximum payment you will receive is £216. These payments will be made as soon as reasonably practicable.

davidgmmafan

breezeblock wrote: »

why would a power cut be an alternative to killing someone, and why would your last statement have anything to do with the fact they expect vix to either claim on her own insurance or pay herself?

Its an example, my gas was cut off because it wasn't safe. Same thing could've happened at the power station.

In this situation it sucked but I didn't demand money as its just one of those things.

I'm really confused, people keep saying compensation isn't the issue its some (other) principle - but how else can the situation be rectified?

The OP is claiming some loss, how can that be put right? Glad someone has the info on what entitlements are, if the OP is covered then great.

I'm just going to assume the OP has spoken to the distributor as that question hasn't been answered.

backfoot

vix2000 wrote: »

Is it right that the energy ombudsman has ruled that the power companies don't have to compensate consumers for damage caused by power cuts that are their fault, and you have to use your own contents insurance (hence losing your no claims discount)?

This was the original question. Vix had been told something I presume by the Distribution Company and wanted verification. It wasn't that unreasonable in my opinion.

What was a shame, was that they didn't make her aware of their own Guaranteed Standards for Supply Interruptions. I suspect not many of the readers were aware of this either. If they had, I imagine he/she would have been satisfied with their response and depending on when the supply came back on, the freezer contents may still have been ok.

That would have left the computer equipment. To me, it looks like a setting problem after the power loss and should be redeemable.If not, in my experience, the Electricity Company usually treats Customer's well on a goodwill basis. Of course, if they can fob off the Customer to their Insurers they will obviously try. Such faults are essentially complex and determining legal liability is an absolute nightmare (which I won't go into).

We would then have had a customer, who like most of the readers would have put up with and accepted the situation. To be fair, this doesn't sound like a short term interruption, it seems to be dragging on, so I can understand the underlying frustration.

In general, we do have an excellent and very reliable Electricity Distribution System. I think that's why some posters took the hostile line, rather than seeing any sympathy.(ESI Employees?)

Because it is so reliable,the Regulator and the Companies agreed to those pretty stringent Compensation Payments for failure. In some ways, it's an effort to keep the Companies responsive to fault situations and to encourage ongoing Investment and Maintenance in the Network. It also allows performance comparison between them.

We haven't heard from Vix today. Have the problems been resolved?

grahamc2003

backfoot wrote: »

This was the original question. Vix had been told something I presume by the Distribution Company and wanted verification. It wasn't that unreasonable in my opinion.

I would assume that, instead of speaking to the distribution company, Vix has spoken to her supplier (the supplier being the usual interface to the consumer).

If that is correct, then the supplier's response - that they are not responsible - I would think is almost certainly correct, since, as has been explained now many times on this thread, the supplier isn't responsible for the supply into the home. I suspect Vix has taken umbrance not because the response wasn't correct, but just because she didn't like the (correct) response. I would also say that the advice to seek compensation for her loss from her home insurance was also good advice (assuming she actually wanted compensation, which she sometimes implies she does, and other times asserts she doesn't).

As to what the ombudsman has ruled - then I have no idea. But certainly I doubt the ombudsman can overrule the law which, I think, says that someone responsible for damage has to compensate for that damage. Of course, accidents and events occur (especially in electricity supply) which are either acts of god, or are simply impossible to reasonably forsee, and so no one is responsible..... isn't that where insurance comes in?

backfoot

grahamc2003 wrote: »

I would assume that, instead of speaking to the distribution company, Vix has spoken to her supplier (the supplier being the usual interface to the consumer).

I doubt it. The loss of supply numbers in the telephone books refer you to the Distribution Company. If she had phoned the supplier they would have quickly directed her to the proper place.At that stage, she would have been asking about when the supply was due back on rather than about claims.

As to what the ombudsman has ruled - then I have no idea. But certainly I doubt the ombudsman can overrule the law which, I think, says that someone responsible for damage has to compensate for that damage. Of course, accidents and events occur (especially in electricity supply) which are either acts of god, or are simply impossible to reasonably forsee, and so no one is responsible..... isn't that where insurance comes in?

There are quite a number of Ombudsman cases on this and the rulings generally for freezer contents claims have said to refer the claim to the household insurers. It does beg the question if you are not insured.

My own view of this is that it is an expedient ruling for all parties rather than one based in law. If a claimant could show negligence,lack of maintenance,faulty materials etc,then they may have a valid claim but their chances of proving this would be extremely difficult and costly.

I would imagine the Ombudsman is trying to set a sensible precedent to keep these relatively small matters out of the legal arena. Quite often his rulings suggest goodwill payments if the associated Customer Service has been poor.

JC_Derby

backfoot wrote: »

These are the entitlements to Compensation:


Regulation 5 - Supply Restoration during Normal Weather
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]If your electricity supply fails during normal weather conditions because of a problem on our distribution system we will restore it within 18 hours of first becoming aware of the problem. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]If we fail and you make a valid claim within three months of the date the supply is restored, we will arrange for you to receive £54 if you are a domestic consumer or £108 if you are a business consumer. You will also receive a further £27 for each additional 12 hours you are without supply. [/FONT]
[/FONT]Regulation 6 - Supply Restoration during Normal Weather – Incidents affecting 5,000 customers or more.
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]If your electricity supply fails during normal weather conditions because of a single incident on our distribution system affecting 5,000 premises or more, we will restore it within 24 hours of first becoming aware of the problem. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]If we fail and you make a valid claim within three months of the date the supply is restored, we will arrange for you to receive £54 if you are a domestic consumer or £109 if you are a business consumer. You will also receive a further payment of £27 for each additional 12 hour period that you are off supply up to a maximum of £216. [/FONT]
[/FONT]Regulation 7 - Supply Restoration during Severe Weather

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]If your electricity supply fails because of a problem on our distribution system due to severe weather we will restore it within the period prescribed by the Regulations dependent upon the scale of the event:- [/FONT]

[/FONT]Category of severe weather

Definition

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Category 1 (medium events) [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Lightning events - when a distributor experiences at least 8 times the normal amount of faults in 1 day – supplies will be restored within 24 hours [/FONT][/FONT]


[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Non-lightning events - when a distributor experiences between 8 and 13 times the normal amount of faults in 1 day – supplies will be restored within 24 hours [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Category 2 [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial]

[FONT=Arial,Arial](large events) [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Non-lightning events - when a distributor experiences at least 13 times the normal amount of faults in 1 day – supplies will be restored within 48 hours [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Category 3 [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial]

[FONT=Arial,Arial](very large events) [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Any severe weather events where at least 35% of exposed customers are affected – supplies will be restored within a period as calculated using a formula based on the number of customers affected as set out in the Regulations [/FONT][/FONT]

If we fail and you make a valid claim within three months of the date the supply is restored, we will arrange for you to receive £27 (for both domestic and business consumers). You will also receive a further £27 for each additional 12 hours you are without supply. The maximum payment you will receive is £216. These payments will be made as soon as reasonably practicable.

nice one ta!

davidgmmafan

"I doubt it. The loss of supply numbers in the telephone books refer you to the Distribution Company. If she had phoned the supplier they would have quickly directed her to the proper place.At that stage, she would have been asking about when the supply was due back on rather than about claims."

Not neccesarily, many MANY people ring the supplier and refuse to accept that they need to be speaking to anyone else before reluctantly agreeing. I don't know if you aware but there are many idiotic people working for suppliers and I wouldn't put it past them to try to fob the customer off if they didn't know the correct answer.

I think I read earlier in the thread something about two days, so OP would seem to be covered.

backfoot

Who the OP contacted first is a pretty semantic argument, which only the OP can clarify. It doesn't really matter.

What was important, was to establish that there is compensation for supply interruptions, after a defined period of time, and that it does appear that the normal ruling by the Ombudsman is for freezer contents damage to be denied, in favour of household insurance.

Unfortunately, the OP hasn't come back to the thread to tell us how it all ended.

vix2000

Hi, sorry, backfoot, I stopped reading as felt I was being misjudged.

The power was off from 3pm Tuesday until late Thursday night.

I didn't ask for compensation (as I said that wasn't the point) but have recieved a letter ( as have all the road) saying I am to be paid £54 compensation for loss of supply.

With a little research I managed to reset the linkstation and retrieve the info on the hard drive.

My supplier is Southern Electric, however it was Yorkshire Electricity that I was dealing with during the power failure. I was, indeed, asking clarification that the information I had been given was correct, as I personally still feel that being expected to use your contents insurance for something that is not down to you is unreasonable. The fact that this is "how it is" doesn't change my opinion.

backfoot

vix2000 wrote: »

I didn't ask for compensation (as I said that wasn't the point) but have recieved a letter ( as have all the road) saying I am to be paid £54 compensation for loss of supply.

My supplier is Southern Electric, however it was Yorkshire Electricity that I was dealing with during the power failure. I was, indeed, asking clarification that the information I had been given was correct, as I personally still feel that being expected to use your contents insurance for something that is not down to you is unreasonable. The fact that this is "how it is" doesn't change my opinion.

Good news indeed on the compensation. :T

It was the Distributor, Yorkshire Electricity, all along.