Observe first, without dismantling anything
Only check whether the outage affects one room, the whole property or also common areas and neighbours. Note when it started and which appliances were operating, without opening the panel or removing covers.
- A local or general outage
- A visible message or switch position at the panel
- An unusual noise, smell, smoke or heat
Prepare useful information
Provide the address, symptoms and what happened beforehand. A photograph taken from a safe distance may help the request to be reviewed.
Recognise an urgent situation
If there is smoke, sparking, exposed wiring or a burning smell, touch nothing, keep people away and call emergency services when people or the building are at risk.