How to report a power fault and which number to call
When your power goes off, the first question to settle is whether it is just your house or the whole street. The answer changes who you should call and what you should tell them. The order below saves you a wait that may not be necessary.
The fault line
KIB-TEK's electricity fault line is 188. It covers the whole island and
takes calls at any hour.
If you cannot reach it from your line, or you are calling from a foreign
number, the alternative is (0392) 600 09 60.
For the Güzelyurt region a mobile number is also published:
0548 888 88 84.
These numbers are for faults. For billing, meters, new registrations, or debt questions, call your regional office instead — the fault line does not handle them.
Check three things first
These take about a minute, and they often show the problem is inside the house rather than on the network.
- Look at your fuse box. If a residual-current device or a breaker has tripped, only your home is dark. Switch it off and back on. If it trips again, one of your appliances is at fault — that is an electrician's job, not the utility's.
- Look at the neighbours. Are the street lights on? Is the building opposite lit? If you are the only dark house, the problem may be in your own connection.
- Check whether work was announced. Planned outages are announced in advance. The front page of this site shows what is known right now and what is scheduled. There is no need to report announced work.
What to say when you call
How quickly a crew finds the fault depends on what you tell them. Have this ready:
- The address: village or neighbourhood, street, building. A nearby landmark helps too.
- When it went off: a rough time is fine.
- How wide the area is: just your house, the street, or the whole village?
- Anything you can see: a fallen or hanging cable, a leaning pole, a bang, a burning smell, or a noise from the transformer. These details decide what equipment the crew brings.
- Your account number: it is on your bill. Not required, but it speeds things up.
When it is dangerous
Never approach a cable that has fallen or is hanging low. You cannot tell from looking whether a line is dead. A conductor lying on the ground can make the ground you are standing on live as well.
Stay at least ten metres away, keep others back, and call 188 immediately. If
there are animals or children nearby, say so on the phone.
Call the same number if a pole is sparking, a transformer is smoking, or you can smell burning, and describe what you can see.
Regional offices
For anything other than a fault, call your regional office. KIB-TEK has five of them, and Lefke is covered by the Güzelyurt region.
| Region | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Lefkoşa | Bedreddin Demirel Caddesi No:140, Kumsal | (0392) 228 55 55 · 600 09 00 |
| Gazimağusa | Mustafa Kurtuluş Yolu, Özel Apt. Kat 2, Baykal | (0392) 366 57 63 |
| Girne | Atatürk Caddesi No:34 | (0392) 815 98 81 |
| Güzelyurt | Ankara Caddesi No:5 | (0392) 714 30 27 |
| İskele | Zalide Sayın Sok. No:1 | (0392) 371 28 73 |
Head office: Bedreddin Demirel Caddesi No:140, Kumsal / Lefkoşa,
(0392) 228 55 55, info@kibtek.com.
How long will it take?
There is no answer anyone can guarantee, and you should be sceptical of anyone who gives you one. It depends on the kind of fault, how many households it affects, the weather, and how many crews are out at the time.
Broadly, a fault affecting a wide area is dealt with before a single house. That is frustrating if you are the single house, but it is the sensible order for bringing a network back up.
What you can do while you wait is in our long outage guide. For protecting your appliances when the power returns, see the surge guide.
Should you report the same fault twice?
No. Calling repeatedly about the same fault occupies the line and does not make anything happen faster. Once your report is logged, a crew has been assigned.
Call again only if something has changed: a new hazard around the cable, a fire risk, or the power coming back and going off again. That is new information, and the crew needs it.