Storm Austen cuts power to more than 160,000 homes in the north-west. Who to call, how to stay safe, and when Enedis pays compensation

What happened

On Friday 23 October, Storm Austen is crossing north-western France. According to figures from the grid operator Enedis at 7 a.m., reported by franceinfo, at least 161,000 customers had lost power: around 128,000 in Brittany, around 19,000 in the Pays de la Loire and around 14,000 in Normandy. Météo-France has 23 departments from Brittany to the Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France included, on orange alert for wind. These are morning figures and will change during the day.

What follows applies to any power cut, not just today's.

Your supplier and the grid are different companies

Your electricity bill comes from the supplier you signed a contract with. Faults on the grid, however, are repaired by Enedis, which runs its own emergency line. So when the lights go out, it makes sense to check with Enedis first rather than calling your supplier. Money follows the same split: compensation for a long outage is paid by Enedis to your supplier, which then credits it on one of your bills.

Where to check and who to call

• The Enedis website, outages section — you can check by address whether a fault is already known in your area.
• Enedis emergency line: 09 72 67 50 followed by your department number (two digits). It runs 24/7 and the call carries no surcharge.
• Text alerts. If you give Enedis your mobile number, an unplanned grid fault triggers a text with the cause and the expected restoration time.

Safety: what Enedis and Météo-France ask

• Do not touch a cable lying on the ground, a broken electrical box, a meter or breaker with its cover missing, or anything that smells of burning or shows black marks.
• Do not use charcoal or gas appliances indoors, camping stoves included: there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Generators belong outside the house — Météo-France says so explicitly in its advice for an orange wind alert.
• Candles should never be left unattended and should be blown out before bed.
• Keep the fridge and freezer closed unless you really must open them, so food stays cold longer.

Météo-France warns that under an orange wind alert, power and phone cuts can last a fairly long time.

Money: what the Enedis rules provide

Outage longer than 5 consecutive hours. If the cause is a fault on the Enedis grid, a flat-rate compensation applies: €2 excluding VAT per kilovolt-ampere (kVA) of subscribed power, for each 5-hour block. For example, under this formula a 6 kVA contract gives €12 excluding VAT for each 5 hours without power. No claim is needed: the money goes through your supplier and appears on one of your bills.

Outage shorter than 5 hours. No flat-rate compensation is provided.

Spoiled food. This is a matter for your home insurance, not Enedis: Enedis advises checking your assurance habitation contract, reporting the claim to your insurer and keeping proof where possible.

A broken appliance. Enedis points out that a power cut on its own does not damage appliances. If something has stopped working, the sequence is: have a professional diagnose it, keep the quote and paperwork, check the cover in your insurance policy and, if needed, file a complaint with Enedis.

Damage caused by the grid itself (a cable on the ground, a damaged pole, a broken neutral wire after bad weather). Compensation may be considered after the file is reviewed. First report it to your insurer, gather photos, quotes and invoices, then if necessary file a complaint through the 'Réclamation' section of the Enedis contact page. For a damaged-equipment claim, Enedis asks for the date and time of the incident, a description and, if possible, the estimated cost of the damage, and a list of the appliances with purchase invoices and repair quotes.

A common mistake

Throwing away thawed food or a broken appliance without taking photos or keeping receipts. Both insurers and Enedis rely on evidence when they review a claim, and without it the damage is harder to prove.

Sources: Enedis pages on what to do in a power cut and on compensation (no update date shown on the pages, checked 23.10.2026); Météo-France alert-level advice; outage figures from franceinfo citing Enedis, 23.10.2026.