Frequently Asked Questions

To avoid any possible damage, any electronic equipment (computers, fax machines, media players, televisions, electronic timers etc.) should be switched off and the power plugs pulled out of the power socket prior to and during the interruption.

Three phase electric motors such as air conditioning units or remote control garage doors should also be switched off prior to the interruption.

We suggest you leave a light on so you can see when the power comes back on.

If the doors remain closed, refrigerated food can stay cool for several hours depending on:

• Age and size of the refrigerator
• Time elapsed since you last opened the fridge door
• Amount of food in the fridge and the room temperature

To aid the running of the fridge, you can freeze plastic bottles of
water or keep containers of ice for emergency usage.

This depends on the type of security system installed at your property. Some alarms will have a backup battery which allows the system to continue working.

Please check the battery is fully charged. If you are unsure how your security system works please check the manual or contact the manufacturer.

We recognise that some customers have medical needs that require the use of special equipment to sustain their health and well-being.

Connect, on request and approval from the Electricity Distributor, may provide a small generator for life support machines, such as oxygen machines or similar.

You should also consider the following in preparation for the planned interruption:

• What back up power is built into the life support equipment that you have?
• When was the last time that you checked the battery back-up?
• Do you know how often should it be checked?
• Will I need to use the equipment during the outage?
• What other household items, needed in an emergency, will not work during an outage? For example your landline telephone.
• Who would you call in an emergency?

Your cordless phone will not work during the interruption. We recommend disconnecting your landline phone and making sure your mobile phone is charged before the interruption occurs.

Yes, smoke alarms have a back up battery for safety reasons. Ensure your back up battery is fully charged or replace the battery if necessary.

If electricity is required to have your water running or to refill your toilet for flushing, we suggest filling your bath with a reserve of water beforehand to use during the planned interruption.

All electric garage doors are required to be equipped with manual release (normally a pull cord).This will allow you to open the door to remove your vehicle. If you are unable to locate this, please check the manual or contact the manufacturer.

If you do not have power, you can boil water on your gas stove or barbecue to heat your child's bottle, or prepare a thermos of hot water before the interruption. Otherwise, your local shops may assist in filling your thermos with hot water or by heating the baby's bottle.

If you have a fish tank, you can use a plastic container to scoop out some water and slowly pour it back into the tank, which effectively oxygenates the water.

If you are still concerned, there are battery powered air filters or air stones available for purchase from your local pet shop to circulate the water.

Please contact your local pet shop if you have any further queries about caring for your fish in your fish tank during the interruption.

Only if you wish to do so. The inverters we approve for connection have anti-islanding functions. This means if power from the network is interrupted the inverter will isolate itself and turn off. This protects our employees and anyone who may come into contact with the network.

During this time no power will feed into the electricity network and the meter will not register power. Once supply is restored the inverter will sense this and turn back on automatically within two minutes.

To help keep the cost of your energy bill down, generators are not typically provided.

Disclaimer

The information provided is of a general nature only and is not intended to be a complete list of all safety matters to consider during a planned interruption. Recipients of this document should consider their individual circumstances before acting on this information provided.

Connect Infrastructure has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information provided in this document is accurate and specifically disclaims any liability arising from the application of its content.