Electrical Accident Statistics UK: 2026 Facts, Data & Key Insights

Electrical Accidents in the UK: The Scale of the Problem

Electricity is the most ubiquitous hazard in every UK workplace. Unlike many other safety risks, it is invisible, silent, and capable of causing fatal injury with no warning and at voltages found in ordinary office equipment. Yet it is also one of the most preventable categories of workplace harm — the overwhelming majority of electrical accidents are attributable to known, controllable failures: faulty equipment, inadequate maintenance, unsafe working practices, and the absence of systematic inspection regimes.

This guide consolidates the latest UK data on electrical accidents, injuries, and fatalities from HSE, the Home Office, Electrical Safety First, and other authoritative sources — providing the reference point that electricians, safety professionals, facility managers, and employers need when researching electrical risk.

Key Facts & Figures (Overview)

• Around 1,000 electricity-related workplace accidents are reported to the HSE every year in the UK.
• Approximately 30 of these result in fatalities — making electrical accidents one of the most consistently deadly hazard categories in UK workplaces.
• Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, contact with electricity was responsible for approximately 4% of all workplace fatalities in the UK.
• An estimated 70 people die from electrocution across the UK every year — including both workplace and domestic incidents.
• Faulty electrical equipment and sockets cause approximately 70 deaths and 350,000 injuries annually in UK homes.
• Electricity is responsible for over 20,000 accidental fires in homes each year — making it the leading cause of accidental domestic fires.
• Electrical hazards accounted for 53.4% of all accidental domestic fires in England.
• In 2024/25, 6,665 workplace fires were recorded in non-residential buildings in the UK, with electrical distribution faults the single largest identifiable cause — responsible for approximately 18% of workplace fires or 2,126 incidents.
• Globally, around 1.2 million people sustain electrical accident-related injuries every year.
• Approximately 70 children are admitted to UK hospitals each year due to electrical shock or burn injuries.
• The total economic and social cost of fire in England — of which electrical faults are the primary cause — is estimated at £12 billion per year.

Workplace Electrical Accidents: The HSE Data

The HSE collects RIDDOR data on the kinds of accidents responsible for workplace injuries and deaths. Contact with electricity consistently features as a significant contributor to the most serious workplace incidents:

Fatal accidents: Approximately 30 workers are killed in electricity-related accidents in UK workplaces every year. These deaths disproportionately involve contact with underground or overhead cables, and electrical work on live systems — the highest-risk activities in the electrical industry.

Non-fatal injuries: Around 1,000 electricity-related workplace accidents are reported to the HSE annually, covering electric shock, electrical burns, and arc flash injuries. Non-fatal electrical shocks can still cause permanent and severe injury — including cardiac damage, nerve damage, severe burns, and long-term neurological effects.

Secondary injuries: A significant proportion of serious injuries related to electricity are not direct electrical injuries but secondary consequences — falls from height following electric shock, muscle contractions causing workers to fall from scaffolding, ladders, or elevated platforms. These secondary injury pathways mean the true casualty toll from electrical incidents is higher than primary electrical injury statistics suggest.

High-risk activities and sectors: Electrical risk is present in every workplace, but is highest in:

• Construction — contact with underground cables, site wiring, and temporary electrical installations
• Manufacturing — machinery with complex electrical systems, high-voltage equipment
• Agriculture — overhead power lines across farmland and in agricultural buildings
• Maintenance and facilities management — work on fixed installations
• Warehousing — electrical equipment under sustained operational load

Electrical Fires: The Dominant Impact

While direct electrical injury — shock, electrocution, burns — is the most immediately visible consequence of electrical failure, the larger public health impact of electricity-related risk is through fire. Electrical faults are the leading identifiable cause of both domestic and workplace fires in the UK:

Domestic fires:

• Electrical hazards accounted for 53.4% of all accidental dwelling fires in England
• Of these electrical fires: 25.9% were caused by faulty appliances and devices; 15.2% by faulty fuel supply; 46.5% by misuse of electrical equipment
• Over 20,000 accidental fires in UK homes are caused by electricity every year
• 71% of electrical fires in UK homes are started by appliances
• In 2024/25, fire and rescue services attended more than 142,000 fires across England — a 2.5% rise on the previous year
• Fire-related deaths are now 12% higher than five years ago

Workplace fires:

• 6,665 workplace fires in non-residential buildings were recorded in 2024/25
• Electrical distribution faults — fuse boxes, circuit breakers, wiring systems, distribution boards — were the largest single identifiable cause at 18%
• Over a three-year period, more than 4,000 business fires were attributed to electrical faults
• Education premises recorded 417 fires in 2024/25 — 6.26% of all workplace incidents

For a detailed breakdown of fire statistics specifically, see our Electrical Fire Statistics UK guide and Cost of Electrical Fires to UK Businesses guide.

Types of Electrical Injury

Electrical injuries manifest in several distinct forms, each with different mechanisms and severity profiles:

Electric shock — the passage of electrical current through the body. Effects range from a brief painful sensation (at low current) to cardiac arrest and death (at higher currents). The severity depends on the magnitude of the current, the path it takes through the body, and the duration of exposure. Currents as low as 100mA can cause ventricular fibrillation.

Electrical burns — of two types: external burns where current enters and exits the body (typically in the hands and feet), and internal burns caused by the heating effect of current travelling through body tissues. Internal burns are often far more severe than external burns suggest, as underlying tissue damage may not be visible.

Arc flash injuries — created when electrical energy is released through an unintended arc in air. Arc flash generates temperatures of up to 20,000°C, an intense pressure wave, and a blast of ultraviolet light capable of causing permanent eye damage. Arc flash is among the most dangerous electrical hazards in industrial environments.

Electrocution — the term for a fatal electric shock. The immediate cause is typically cardiac arrest triggered by current passing through the heart.

Secondary injuries — falls, impacts, and muscle injuries caused by the involuntary muscle contractions accompanying electric shock. A worker who receives a shock on a ladder or at height may suffer a fatal fall as a secondary consequence of what might otherwise have been a survivable shock.

Who Is Most at Risk?

Electricians and electrical engineers — who work directly with live systems, are among the highest-risk occupational groups for electrical injury. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 set out specific duties on employers and employees regarding work on electrical systems.

Construction workers — face elevated electrical risk from contact with underground cables during excavation work, from overhead lines, and from electrical installations on dynamic construction sites where the infrastructure changes daily.

Maintenance and facilities workers — who interact regularly with electrical plant, switch rooms, and fixed installations in buildings.

Agricultural workers — overhead power lines crossing agricultural land are responsible for a significant proportion of fatal electrical accidents. Farm machinery, particularly during harvesting, can make contact with overhead lines.

Members of the public in buildings with faulty electrical installations — particularly in rented accommodation, where EICR compliance failures are associated with a significant proportion of domestic electrocution and electrical fire incidents.

Children — approximately 70 children are admitted to UK hospitals each year due to electrical shock or burn injuries. Children are particularly susceptible because they do not understand the risks and may interact with electrical equipment, sockets, or cabling in ways adults would not.

Electrical Accidents and the Law

The primary legislation governing electrical safety in UK workplaces is the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which imposes a duty on employers, the self-employed, and employees to ensure that electrical systems are designed, constructed, and maintained so as to prevent, as far as is reasonably practicable, danger. Key duties include:

• All electrical equipment must be of adequate strength and capability for its intended use
• Electrical systems must be maintained to prevent danger
• Work on or near live conductors is prohibited unless it is unreasonable to work dead or unless adequate precautions are in place
• Persons carrying out work on electrical systems must be competent to do so

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 provides the overarching framework, imposing the general duty of care on employers to provide safe equipment and a safe working environment.

For portable appliances specifically, the duty to maintain electrical equipment extends to all portable appliances used in the workplace — making Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) the practical mechanism through which most employers discharge their duty. See our Portable Appliance Testing Statistics UK guide for full data on PAT and its role in electrical safety.

The Role of PAT Testing in Preventing Electrical Accidents

Portable Appliance Testing is the systematic inspection and electrical testing of portable electrical equipment to verify that it is safe for continued use. It sits alongside EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) testing of fixed wiring as the two principal tools for maintaining electrical safety in buildings and workplaces.

The case for PAT testing is rooted directly in the accident and fire statistics above. With faulty appliances responsible for approximately 25.9% of electrical dwelling fires, and electrical equipment faults the leading single cause of workplace fires, the identification of faults before they cause harm is the most cost-effective intervention available to employers and property managers.

PAT testing identifies:

• Damaged cables, frayed wires, and damaged plugs
• Incorrect fusing
• Inadequate insulation resistance
• Failed earth continuity
• Signs of overheating or previous electrical damage

For full details on PAT testing frequency, legal requirements, and what testing reveals, see our Portable Appliance Testing Statistics UK guide.

Written by Electrical Safety Experts

This guide was produced by the team at PAT Testing Course, a UK provider of City & Guilds and LCL Awards-accredited PAT testing training. Our courses are delivered nationwide by fully qualified electrical experts and are designed to give individuals and organisations the competence to manage portable appliance testing effectively and legally. For sector-specific electrical safety data, see our guides to Electrical Fire Statistics UK, Workplace Electrical Safety Statistics UK, Landlord Electrical Safety Statistics UK, Office Electrical Safety Statistics UK, Care Home Electrical Safety Statistics UK, Construction Site Electrical Safety Statistics UK, and School Electrical Safety Statistics UK.

Sources & References

• HSE – Electricity at Work: Safe Working Practices – https://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/
• HSE – RIDDOR Kind of Accident Statistics in Great Britain 2025 – https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/
• Electrical Safety First – Statistics – https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/what-we-do/our-policies/westminster/statistics-england/
• MHCLG – Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics, Year Ending March 2025 – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-and-rescue-incident-statistics-year-ending-march-2025
• Gov.UK – Economic and Social Cost of Fire – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economic-and-social-cost-of-fire