Oh No my electric supply has been cut off!!!?.

As many of us are aware dealing with big companies such as Iberdrola can be quite challenging, I am often contacted by people that have, for one reason or another, had their electricity supply cut off by the supplier.

Most often the supply is cut due to a missed bill payment and this is not necessarily the last bill; I know of one situation where a supply was disconnected for owing as little as €0.79 on a bill from eleven months previous.

My best advice is to avoid getting your electricity cut off, ensure you check that the electricity supplier is taking the money monthly/ bi-monthly. If, unfortunately, you do have the electric supply disconnected it could cause you a lot of problems. I will try to explain what you may be required to do in order to get it turned back on again.

If you find that the power goes off due to Iberdrola disconnecting the supply then inside your home when you look at your consumer unit (fuse box) you will find that all of the circuit breakers are in the ‘on’ position. What has happened is the Iberdrola contractor has disconnected the power by pulling the main fuse that is located near the meter. Often they will leave the fuses in the box and put an orange sticker on the meter as a warning that you have missed a payment, be very careful at this stage as they often leave live parts exposed, if in doubt contact a professional electrician. If you are ‘lucky’ enough to have the ‘orange sticker’ warning, contact the supplier and they will instruct you what to do next, however, don’t wait too long as they will be back to remove the meter next.

If the meter is removed, you will again be required to contact the supplier (remember deep breaths, as upsetting them will make things a lot worse), they may, depending on the age of the electrical installation within your home, ask for a ‘Boletin’. This may entail having a full re-wire costing €1000’s if not they may ask for a ‘Certificate of second occupation’ which will also put you back €300 - €500, not forgetting a long period without electricity. In other cases I know of, they have insisted the meter cupboard be moved to the boundary of the plot, before the supply is turned back on and sometimes they have even required the installation of a new Pylon.

I have used the worst case scenario whilst writing this article, as every situation is different and every installation is different. If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being cut off, we can help, but the best solutions is pay your bills and don’t give the electricity company any reason to cut off your supply in the first place.