An unforeseen power outage is always frustrating. It cripples your routine, leaving you unproductive throughout the day. What makes it more frustrating is often, you don’t know how long it will last, or if it will come back automatically.
To avoid experiencing such cases in Manhattan or Salt Lake City, an emergency electrician should be on standby to dispel any doubts. To get a better understanding, here are the most common causes of power outages.
Severe storms
Thunderstorms are often the first culprit of power outages. Lightning can strike electric poles and other electrical equipment or strike trees, which then collapse onto power lines, causing outages.
Other inclement weather conditions can also cause the same. Hail storms can disrupt power either through chunks of ice hitting electrical equipment or subzero conditions causing such equipment to freeze up. Strong winds can cause trees to hit power lines, and flooding can impair underground electrical grids.
Wild animals
Sometimes, small animals may wander in places where they shouldn’t be, like electrical units or substations, and cause a massive power outage. They can get attracted to the radiant warmth of electrical components by power companies or gnaw at power wires, getting electrocuted in the process. Even birds can cause outages when they build their nests on ends of power lines and exposed insulators.
Untimely accidents
If you can’t seem to trace the problem, tune in to your local news. A car might have swerved off a nearby road and collided into a utility pole, causing the power failure in your area. Or perhaps, tall construction equipment got caught into a power line overhead. While these accidents may not cause the outage itself, a resulting live wire is a good reason to temporarily shut off the power.
Routine power grid maintenance
Sometimes, power companies would announce scheduled interruptions or rotational brownouts, so they can perform routine maintenance or execute repairs to their power grids. Power outages protect their workers and engineers from possible electrocution. Though these usually happen during lean hours, it still helps to be updated via public bulletins or the local news to know the schedule, so you can plan accordingly.
Construction projects
If you or anyone in the neighborhood is renovating their property and bringing in heavy machinery and excavating the ground for landscaping, then you may have a potential power outage in your hands. Construction equipment that digs deep may damage underground electrical grids. Make sure to have a professional construction team who’s aware of these buried electrical grids.
Electrical overloading
Sometimes, it’s your fault why power is out. You may be operating way too many electrical appliances and devices that you’re causing your circuits to overload. Keep in mind that hot weather may aggravate excessive electricity use. Turning all your air-conditioning units at once and cranking them to maximum power for a long period can overburden electric cables, transformers, and other electrical equipment to the point of stoppage.
Equipment malfunction
Electrical components get damaged over time. Circuit breakers, transformers, and other equipment that carry electrical load may not be performing as well as they used to. In these cases, never attempt to diagnose your electrical equipment. Instead, consult a professional electrician on which components should be repaired or replaced.
If the problem persists, contact a residential electrician to look at the issue. Also, before you wonder what caused the power to shut off, check if you’ve paid your electricity bills.
