Service disruptions on 29 and 30 April

We have received notice that essential maintenance works are being carried out on the local energy network, which will require a temporary shutdown of heating, hot water, and in some cases, electricity on 29 and 30 April.
These works are necessary to ensure the long-term reliability and efficiency of the system.

Emergency procedures

A dedicated response team will be on standby. If you need help urgently, please call Barking and Dagenham Council’s switchboard 0208 215 3000. In the event of a medical emergency please call 999.

Support available to Reside residents

We understand that this temporary shutdown will be inconvenient. To assist residents during this period:

  • Bottled water: For blocks where electricity supply will be interrupted on 29 April, bottles of drinking water will be provided – more details below.
  • Work-from-home support: If you will be without electricity and need alternative working arrangements, hot desking will be available for you at the Barking Enterprise Centre (BEC) – more details below.
  • Support for vulnerable residents: Support is in place at Barking Learning Centre (BLC) for people who need extra help – details are linked to below.
  • Tell us if you or someone in your household needs additional assistance during the shutdown, by emailing enquiries@bdreside.co.uk as soon as possible.

Questions

If you have any concerns or require further information, please contact enquiries@bdreside.co.uk

Frequently asked questions

Answers to frequently asked questions can be found below:

1. Why are these works happening?

As part of ongoing improvements to the energy infrastructure, essential upgrades of the energy centre’s electricity supply are required. These works are the next phase in the programme that will help prevent future service disruptions and enhance the overall reliability of your energy supply. The work is being phased on a block-by-block basis to keep the disruption as short as possible.

2. How will this affect some Reside residents?

Details of which blocks are affected, how and for how long are set out in the tables below.
Please note: Residents in the homes affected will receive detailed communications. Not all homes in all the blocks and streets listed are affected at the same time or in the same way, depending on which part of the electricity network each is connected to.

Tuesday 29 April 2025

Addresses in: 10:00AM to 4:00PM
Trilene House

Bowline Street

Farrimond House

Fisherman Street

King Edwards Road

St Marys

 Services affected:

·     Electricity

·     Cold water

·     Heating

·     Hot water

Lifts will be grounded and out of action.

 
Wednesday 30 April 2025

Addresses in: 09:00AM to 5:00PM 10:00Am to 1:00PM
Albright Court

Arbor Court

Beckett Court

Bowen Court

Braid Court

Butterfly Court

Clove Court

Ketch Street

King Edwards Street

Lariat Court

Mast Street

Mizzen Street

Net Street

Orvis Court

Ripple Road

Salting Street

Windsor Court

 Heating and hot water off Electricity and cold water off

Lifts grounded and out of action

 

Addresses in: 09:00AM to 5:00PM 2:30PM to 4:00PM
Cutter Court

Fifeshire Court

Herring Court

Ketch Street

Leleu Court

Mather Court

Mizzen Street

Palomar Court

Sailor Court

Shuckford Court

Tide

Heating and hot water off Electricity and cold water off

Lifts grounded and out of action

 

Addresses in: 09:00AM to 5:00PM
Abbey Leisure Centre

Abbey Quay

Cargo

Carrier

Challingsworth House

Chand

Fishmonger

Forge

Gilderson plus some street properties

Plaice

Sole

Town Hall

Trawler

 

 

 

 

Heating and hot water off

3. When will services come back on?

Restoration of service: The timings above show the latest times that services are expected to be restored to the homes in the blocks listed. The engineers carrying out the work are aiming to restore services as quickly as possible so your electricity may come back on earlier than the time set out.

4. Why is the work being done during the day?

Some residents have asked why the decision was made to do this work during the day.

All the options for carrying out this work safely have been considered by the engineers and the project team.

Considering all the factors, the risk-based assessment is that these works are most safely and efficiently carried out during daylight hours.

There are several important reasons for this:

  • Safety of residents – The nighttime temperatures at this time of year are lower than during the day. The impact of a few hours without heating is likely to be greater during the hours of darkness. For those without electricity – a nighttime service disruption would also impact people used to using electric heaters and blankets at night to offset the cold weather. Lack of electricity at night also puts people at risk when they need to move around their homes in the dark.
  • Safety of engineers – Working with a lack of electricity during the hours of darkness is a bigger safety risk for the engineers completing the works.
  • Security – A power outage will affect security systems and this would be an increased risk during the night.
  • Nature of work – Overnight works are typically those that can be undertaken piecemeal, for example in two-hour slots. The planned upgrades taking place on 25 February and in April cannot be broken down into smaller tranches. Technically they need to be completed in a single workstream.

5. What support is available for residents?

Bottled water: On 29 April, bottled water will be available for residents in the blocks where the cold water supply will be affected between 10AM and 16:00PM.

Locations for collection will be:

Foyers of each building.

There is one bottle per household – residents are welcome to pick up a bottle from 9:00AM on the morning of 29 April.

Support for vulnerable residents: Vulnerable residents can access rooms with heating and water at the Barking Learning Centre (BLC) for the duration of the electricity switch-off. See more details in Q6 below.

Tell us if you or someone in your household needs additional assistance during the shutdown, by emailing enquiries@bdreside.co.uk as soon as possible.

Alternative working arrangements are available: Please see below the answer to the Q7 below.

6. What support is available for vulnerable people?

Vulnerable residents can access rooms with heating and water at the Barking Learning Centre (BLC) for the duration of the electricity switch-off.

Address:

2 Town Square

Barking

IG11 7NB

Contact details:

020 8724 8725 / 020 8724 8722

You can contact us at enquiries@bdreside.co.uk or contact the BLC directly to make arrangements.

7. I work from home – if I have no electricity between 10:00AM and 1:00PM where can I go to work?

If you are without electricity, you can access hot desking facilities at the Barking Enterprise Centre whilst works are carried out.

Address:

50 Cambridge Road

Barking

IG11 8FG

Contact details:

020 8227 3030 / 020 82275037

reception@barkingenterprisecentre.co.ukBEC reception will guide you to the hot-desking facilities upon arrival.

8 Why does it take two days to complete this phase of the work?

The work is being carried out on five electricity sub-stations in phases so not all the network will be affected at the same time. These sub-stations will be switched off in sequenced groups. However the work needs to be completed on all the sub-stations as close as possible to the same time. Safe working means that this phase of the programme will need to take place over two days.

9 Are more works planned?

No more works are planned in this programme.

9 What about my fridge and freezer contents?

During a power supply disruption, the most important thing to do with your fridge and freezer is to keep the doors closed as much as possible; a fridge can generally keep food cold for up to 4 hours, while a full freezer can maintain its temperature for around 48 hours (24 hours if half full) if left unopened.

National Grid has advice about your fridge and freezer content here: https://www.nationalgrid.com/power-cuts/tips-prepare-for-power-cut

10. Will my wifi still work?

If your electricity supply is disrupted then your wifi router will not work. If you need access to the internet for work, hot desking facilities will be available at the Barking Enterprise Centre – details in FAQ 7.

11. How do I protect electronic devices

Turn off or unplug any sensitive and expensive electrical equipment. Electrical surges during power cuts can damage digital devices, such as phones, TVs, laptops, and tablets, so turn them off or unplug them from the mains to keep them safe.