We get calls every week from people asking “why has my power gone out?” – of course, the answer isn’t usually a simple one when we are not on site. We have put together a list of things to check before getting an electrician out to your property so you can keep the costs down. Some of these may seem really basic but honestly, we have found that when the power goes out it creates a sense of panic and people forget to check the basic things.

1. Check the street lights and the neighbours houses. Are the lights on? If so then you now know it is contained to your property. Check more than one neighbour in case some have a generator that has taken over the power source and kept their electricity on.
2. Have you paid the bill? We know this seems odd but you would be surprised how often it ends up being the reason the power has gone out (especially when the power was on when you left for work but not working when you got home).
3. Check your electricity meter/fuse box. This is usually located on either an external side wall or back wall of a house or for apartments often it is located in the laundry. Your home should be fitted with a safety switch so it’s possible that an appliance has caused the safety switch to switch off to protect you from electrocution. Are any switches turned off? If so, then you possibly have an issue with an appliance that is connected to that switch. If this is the case, turn of all appliances that are connected to that area of the house. Then come back and switch the switch on and the safety switch back on. Now one by one plug the appliances in again until you find the one that trips the switch. Once you locate which one, unplug it, put the switches back on and either decide if a repair is in order or replacement. Please do not ignore this step – simply switching it back on and waiting until it happens again is dangerous and could cause a fire if there is a faulty appliance.
4. Suburb Outage. If the power outage is your entire street or suburb then it’s time to switch off all appliances at the wall – including fridges, heaters, fans, computers and small appliances like kitchen products. Turn off all lights but leave just one on so you know when the power comes back on. Reduce opening the fridge to keep the contents cold for longer until the power comes back on. If you are going out, make sure any applicances like heaters, irons, curling irons etc are turned off at the wall to prevent fire when the power comes back on.

If none of the above seems to fit your circumstances, please call us or your preferred electrical contractor to attend your premises and determine what the issue is.