Hi everyone,

I’m a final-year university student studying Computing Systems. For my final year project, I’m developing a new Northern Ireland PowerCheck website. It will be similar to NIE’s but with improved features to better support people during power outages. The idea for this project came from Storm Éowyn, and I hope a community-focused platform will help people better navigate major outages like those experienced during the storm in the future.

Some key features I hope to include:

  • 🔹 SMS Alerts – Notify users about power outages at selected addresses (e.g., family, friends, or vulnerable relatives).
  • 🔹 Community Support – Businesses can list services they offer during outages, such as hot showers or phone charging.
  • 🔹 Hazard Reporting – Users can report dangers like fallen power lines or exposed wires.
  • 🔹 Live Outage Map – A clear, interactive map displaying all current outages.

To ensure I’m building something that truly benefits people, I’ve created a short survey to gather feedback and refine the project’s features. It should take around 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

If the project goes well, I plan to host the website free of charge after my studies.

📢 Survey Link: https://form.jotform.com/250714285259057

Thanks in advance for your time and feedback—I really appreciate it! 😊

by Away-Atmosphere-282

2 comments

  1. Well, that sounds alright. But I don’t know how you can improve upon a website that tells me something I can find by flicking on my light switch.

    The rest of your sure suggestions just sound like data aggregating that will depend on user input. How do you verify it’s true?

    Text messages to tell me what? My or family’s power is still out? I refer back to the light switch. A live map? What’s not live about NIE’s? Where would you get the data, other than NIE’s website? How do you afford a website that will see no use bar during storm events and will experience a surge in traffic, data usage, and, as you plan, SMS usage? Then falls idle again for months at a time. More importantly, how do you become the website people would use over NIE’s?

  2. NIE owns the network and therefore provides live and accurate information on their website with the means to do so. Hard to call compete with that.

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