Neighbours have power but your house does not: what to check

If your neighbours have electricity but your home does not, a city-wide outage search is only the starting point. The next useful step is to describe exactly what has stopped working and ask the right person to investigate. A nearby working light cannot identify the fault in your connection.

This checklist helps you gather information safely. It does not ask you to open a meter box, test wiring or repair a circuit.

Start with signs that need urgent help

If you see smoke, sparks, damaged wires or water around electrical equipment, keep people away and seek urgent help through the relevant emergency service or electricity provider. Do not approach equipment to photograph it. An outage is not proof that a wire is safe to touch.

BSES Rajdhani’s electrical safety guidance warns against entering wet areas where electrical leakage is suspected. That safety principle matters even if you live outside its service area; use your own supplier’s contact details for the incident.

Check the scope from a safe place

Ask a neighbour whether their home is using mains electricity or a backup system. An illuminated building may have an inverter or generator. If several homes are affected, ask the building manager whether there is a known building-level problem before assuming it is a city-wide cut.

Note whether your whole home is affected or only a room or appliance. Record what you already observed; do not switch equipment repeatedly to reproduce a fault. Tell the professional if the problem started while an appliance was being used, after rain, or during building work.

These are enquiry routes, not a diagnosis. The responsibility for a particular component depends on the connection and installation. Ask who owns the equipment before agreeing to repair work.

Check the correct provider and notice

Use the supplier printed on your latest bill. A postcode, city name or nearby property may not establish which utility serves your connection. Our state and city electricity directory helps you find provider information, but your bill remains the better starting point for identifying your account.

If an official notice covers your area, compare its date and time with when your problem started. A planned maintenance end time is not a promise that your individual connection will be restored then. No matching notice also does not prove there is no fault.

Prepare a complaint someone can act on

Keep the consumer number and bill available for the official channel. Give a short description: the time supply stopped, whether the whole home is affected, what neighbouring homes or common areas show, and whether there is visible damage. Do not publish your account number in a public community report.

Ask for a reference number, the next contact if the issue persists and whether an inspection is needed. Record the response rather than repeatedly creating new complaints with slightly different descriptions. If you are a BESCOM consumer, our BESCOM complaint preparation guide explains the relevant route. Consumers elsewhere should use their own provider’s process.

When an electrician is needed

If the utility says supply reaches the connection but your home remains affected, arrange a qualified electrician to investigate the internal installation. Tell them what the provider checked and share the complaint reference. If you rent, involve the owner or building manager so access and responsibility can be agreed.

Do not remove a meter seal, bypass protection or keep resetting equipment that trips again. Ask for the cause and the proposed work in writing. If repairs are quoted, the wiring quotation checklist can help you clarify the scope.

Common questions

Does a working streetlight prove my home should have power?

No. It is an observation to report, not a test of your connection. Describe your own supply and ask the utility to check the relevant equipment.

Can PowerCutStatus tell me the exact restoration time?

Only a reliable update for your connection can establish that. A public schedule, a neighbour’s report or a lack of notices does not confirm the restoration time for your home.