48 Hours to Save a Wedding.
A major electrical fault. A wedding venue without power. Guests due the following morning. This became less about fixing a distribution board and more about doing whatever was needed to keep one of the most important days in our customer's calendar on track.
The lights weren't just tripping. Something serious was happening.
The White Horse in Chichester was preparing to host a wedding when seemingly unrelated areas of the property began losing power.
With the event only two days away, our electricians attended to investigate. Initial testing identified signs of electrical surging isolated to the L2 phase.
Further investigation found the real problem: electrical arcing inside the site's main MCCB panel.
At that point this was no longer an inconvenient electrical fault. There was evidence of significant heat damage inside a critical part of the venue's electrical infrastructure.
We recommended isolating the site so the damaged equipment could be investigated properly rather than risking further damage or an unsafe installation.
The damage had made the decision for us.
Our electricians returned at 7am and continued the investigation. A loose terminal was suspected as the original cause, but the heat generated by the incident had been severe enough to melt and weld metal components together.
That meant repairing the existing equipment was no longer a sensible option. The main panel needed replacing.
Measurements and technical details were recorded immediately and passed to the wholesaler while our team began stripping out the damaged unit and preparing the installation for the replacement.
Then the replacement threw us another problem.
Getting the new equipment was only the first challenge. Once it reached site, another issue became apparent — and suddenly a routine installation became a race across the South of England.
Investigation resumes
The damaged MCCB assembly was assessed, measured and prepared for replacement.
Replacement arrives
The new equipment reached site and the team immediately began the installation.
Another obstacle
The incoming cable was found to be unsuitable for the terminals on the new main switch.
Parts found — 2½ hours away
The required components could only be sourced near Bristol, so the wider Hi-Tech team was mobilised.
When the part is in Bristol and the wedding is in Chichester, you improvise.
Waiting until the next day wasn't really an option.
The only suitable components we could locate were near Bristol — around two and a half hours from the venue. Rather than accept the delay, we used the geographical spread of our own team.
An operative based near Bristol collected the parts. They were handed to another member of the team and relayed across to the venue, finally arriving at around 8:30pm.
Meanwhile, another complication emerged. The installation required a specialist crimping tool that wasn't available to the electricians already on site.
A Hi-Tech manager sourced the required crimper from his own toolkit and travelled to the venue personally so that work could continue that evening.
Operatives, management and logistics all became part of the solution because getting the venue operational mattered more than whose job description the problem belonged to.
At 10pm, the lights came back on.
With the components finally on site and the right tools and people in place, the replacement installation was completed and the venue was brought back online at approximately 10pm.
Restoring the supply wasn't the end of the job. The installation then had to be properly tested before we could be confident that the venue was safe and ready to operate.
Testing was completed at around 00:30.
A few hours later, the wedding went ahead as planned.
What actually made the difference?
Recognising that the damaged panel needed replacement rather than attempting an unsafe temporary repair.
Measuring, sourcing and preparing the replacement installation while parts were still being obtained.
Using Hi-Tech operatives across different locations to relay critical components from Bristol to Chichester.
Staying with the problem until the installation was repaired, tested and ready for the customer's event.
Emergency support backed by technical capability.
When your property can't wait until tomorrow.
Talk to Hi-Tech about reactive electrical maintenance, planned electrical works and support across operational commercial properties.