Power cuts and lifts.

What happens in a power cut.

A lift is designed to fail safe. When the power goes, it does not fall or drift: it stops and holds the car where it is.

On a traction lift, the brake is applied by springs and held off by an electric current, so it closes as soon as the power fails. On a hydraulic lift, valves hold the oil in the cylinder. Either way, the car stays put.

If the car stops between floors, its doors stay shut. The regulations say car doors “must remain closed and interlocked if the lift stops between two levels where there is a risk of a fall between the car and the shaft”. That is uncomfortable for passengers, but it keeps them away from the gap.

Passengers will not run out of air. Lift cars have ventilation openings, and they must be designed “to ensure sufficient ventilation for passengers, even in the event of a prolonged stoppage.”

The emergency light and alarm.

Every lift car must have emergency lighting and a two-way means of communication with a rescue service, usually an alarm button that connects to a call centre. Both must keep working when the mains supply fails.

That usually means batteries, and batteries wear out. LEIA’s code of practice says that “if the equipment depends on a battery backup in the event of a power failure, the health of this supply is checked as part of a schedule of regular checks.” In our view, ask your contractor when the emergency light and alarm batteries were last checked, and how the lift phone line is powered in a power cut. Our lift autodiallers page covers emergency phones.

Rescue devices.

Every lift must have a way to release people who are trapped. The regulations say: “Lifts must be equipped with means enabling people trapped in the car to be released and evacuated.” How that works depends on the lift.

With an automatic rescue device

An automatic rescue device uses a battery or other back-up supply to move the car slowly to a floor when the mains supply fails, then opens the doors so passengers can walk out. On a hydraulic lift, the car is usually lowered to a floor below. NHS guidance for hospitals recommends “an automatic system be provided that can recover each lift in turn to the nearest landing or to the main floor”, as part of its advice on lifts that run on the emergency supply.

Without one

Passengers wait for a trained person to release them. Depending on the lift, the rescue may involve releasing the brake and hand winding a traction lift to a floor, or emergency lowering on a hydraulic lift, with an indicator showing when the car is level with a floor. NHS guidance describes the equipment for each. These are procedures for trained people only.

In our view, an automatic rescue device is worth discussing with your contractor if your building has frequent supply problems, a single lift, or users who would struggle to wait in a stopped car. Not every lift can take one, so ask what would suit yours.

If people are trapped.

Our trapped passenger response puts a power-cut entrapment in its highest-risk group. In a power cut, the building may be dark, several lifts may stop at once and phones may not work as usual. If people are trapped:

• Call your lift contractor’s emergency number straight away, and tell them it is a power cut.
• Call 999 if anyone is unwell, distressed or in danger.
• Reassure the passengers, over the lift intercom if your building has one, or through the closed landing door. Tell them help is coming and ask them not to force the doors.
• Make sure the engineer can get in, and meet them if you can.

Our 7-step breakdown response plan covers each step in more detail, including what to record afterwards.

When the power returns.

In our experience, some lifts return to service by themselves when the supply comes back, and others stay out of service until an engineer has checked them, for example if the controller recorded a fault or the supply came back with a problem. Either way:

• Check whether anyone is still in a lift, and that each lift you rely on is working.
• Report any lift that stays out of service or behaves oddly. Do not reset it unless your contractor has trained and authorised you to.
• Record the power cut in the logbook, with the times, which lifts stopped and whether anyone was trapped.

A lift that keeps tripping after power cuts may have a fault in its own supply or controller. Our lesson on how engineers diagnose faults explains how that is traced.

Planned power cuts.

A planned cut is the easiest kind to deal with, because nobody needs to be trapped. Your electricity network operator should tell you before it cuts the supply for planned work: under the Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2015, it must pay compensation if it does not give at least two days’ notice of the day, unless an exception applies. Your own electrical contractors may also need to turn the power off for work in the building.

As soon as you know a date:

1. 01

   Tell your lift contractor

   Give them the date, the times and which parts of the building will lose power.

2. 02

   Agree what happens to each lift

   Agree who will take the lifts out of service before the cut, with nobody inside, and how. Do not switch lifts off yourself unless your contractor has asked you to and shown you how.

3. 03

   Tell lift users

   Put up notices in advance, and plan for anyone who cannot use the stairs.

4. 04

   Check the lifts afterwards

   Agree who will check that every lift is back in normal service when the power returns.

Hospitals and other buildings with a standby generator need more planning. NHS guidance recommends that at least one lift in each group runs on the essential supply, and that the generator supply has the same characteristics as the normal supply. In our view, check with your contractor that the lifts have actually been tested on the generator.

Check your understanding.

Three quick questions on this lesson. Choose an answer to check it, or open the answer below each question.

1. The power fails while a lift is between floors. What normally happens?

   1. The car stops and is held where it is, with the emergency light and alarm still working
   2. The car slides slowly down to the bottom of the shaft
   3. The doors open so passengers can climb out
   Show the answer

   A. The car stops and is held where it is, with the emergency light and alarm still working. The lift must have devices to prevent free fall or uncontrolled movement in a power cut. The car doors stay closed and locked between floors, and the emergency light and alarm work on battery power.

2. Passengers are trapped in a lift during a power cut. What should building staff do?

   1. Open the landing door with a key and help them climb out
   2. Switch the lift off and on again at the isolator
   3. Call the lift contractor’s emergency number, keep talking to the passengers and wait for trained help
   Show the answer

   C. Call the lift contractor’s emergency number, keep talking to the passengers and wait for trained help. Trapped passengers are usually safe where they are, and an untrained release can put them and others at risk. Call for trained help, reassure the passengers and call 999 if anyone is unwell or in danger.

3. Your electricity network operator has written to say the power will be off next Tuesday morning. What should you do about the lifts?

   1. Nothing, because the lifts will stop safely
   2. Tell your lift contractor now, and agree how the lifts will be taken out of service and checked afterwards
   3. Ask a member of staff to switch the lifts off when the lights go out
   Show the answer

   B. Tell your lift contractor now, and agree how the lifts will be taken out of service and checked afterwards. A planned cut is a chance to avoid trapping anyone. Your contractor can advise on taking the lifts out of service beforehand with nobody inside, and on checking them when the power returns.

Sources.

The primary sources for this lesson. We checked them when the lesson was last updated on 18 October 2026. How we research and check our lessons.

1. The Lifts Regulations 2016, Schedule 1legislation.gov.uk. Paragraphs 4 and 5 cover power cuts, car doors, release of trapped passengers, ventilation, emergency lighting and the alarm.
2. HTM 08-02: LiftsNHS England. Guidance on lifts in healthcare buildings. Paragraphs 6.27 to 6.34 cover rescue equipment and 6.163 to 6.164 the emergency supply.
3. LM01: Maintenance requirement for lifts, lifting platforms, escalators and moving walksLift and Escalator Industry Association. Industry code of practice (2013). Clauses 4.9 and 5.10 cover alarm batteries and rescue by trained people.
4. The Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2015, regulation 12legislation.gov.uk. Notice of planned interruptions to the electricity supply.
5. Check compensation rules for a power cut or supply problemOfgem. Reporting a power cut on 105, and the compensation rules in England, Scotland and Wales.