Everyone takes electricity for granted nowadays, and so when there is a power cut we appreciate how frustrating it can be.
Parts of Dorset have seen a number of outages in recent months. With this in mind, SSE have the following advice on what to do should you experience a loss in supply at your home.
Check with your neighbours
Check if your neighbours have electricity. If they don’t, it’s likely that the fault is on our electricity network. If you live in a built-up area, you might notice that the street lights are on but the lights in all or some of the houses in your street are off. This is because once the power leaves the local electricity sub-station it will sometimes be split across two or three circuits, or ‘phases’, before it’s delivered to the homes in your street. Usually if there’s a fault at the local sub-station, only one of the phases will be affected. That’s why just some homes will lose power.
If everyone else has power and your home doesn’t, it’s likely to be an issue with your own fuses or trip switches. If your fuses and trip switches are OK, then you could have an internal wiring or appliance fault.
How to isolate a fault with your wiring or appliances
If you feel confident, there are a few things you can do yourself before you call an electrician. Near your meter will be your fuse box. This will contain either Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs, these are generally up/down flip switches) or pull out re-wirable fuses. You may also have a main trip switch, this will have a ‘push to test’ or a ‘reset’ button similar to that described above.
If you have miniature Circuit Breakers:
1. With the main trip switch on and your main power turned off, flip all of the individual switches off.
2. Without turning the power back on flip ONE switch back into the on position. After that please turn the power back on.
3. If the power works and the main trip switch does not switch off, try switching off your power again and repeat the process, adding ONE switch at a time. Eventually the switch protecting the faulty circuit will cause the main trip to operate, when this happens switch the power back off and reset the main trip switch. Turn the last flip switch back to off.
4. Next, flip all your other circuit switches back on. Turn the power on once more and if there’s only one fault the power should stay on.
5. Turning the power off again, you need to unplug or switch off everything that runs on the faulty circuit. Common culprits are kettles, immersion heaters, and hot plates on electric cookers. Once done, try flipping the switch back on. If the main trip goes again and there is nothing plugged in then there is probably a problem with the wiring and you’ll need an electrician.
6. If the power remains on and the main trip does not operate, then one or more of the appliances you have removed is faulty. Turn off the power again and plug in and switch on ONE appliance before switching the main power back on. Repeat this until the main trip switch goes. When this happens the last thing you plugged in should be removed before testing again. If the power stays on, you’ve found your faulty appliance.
If you have found a fault with your wiring, an appliance or your fuse box, it’s always best to use a qualified electrician rather than try to repair the fault yourself.
If you have Re-wirable fuses:
1. With the main trip switch on and your main power turned off, pull out all of the fuses.
2. Check to see if any of the fuses are obviously damaged.
3. Without turning the power back on replace a single fuse, afterwards turn the power back on.
4. If the power works and the main trip switch does not switch off, try switching off your power again and repeat the process, adding ONE fuse at a time. Eventually the fuse protecting the faulty circuit will cause the main trip to operate, when this happens switch the power back off and reset the main trip switch. Remove the last fuse again.
5. Next, replace all the other fuses. Turn the power on once more and if there’s only one fault the power should stay on.
6. Turning the power off again, you need to unplug or switch off everything that runs on the faulty circuit. Common culprits are kettles, immersion heaters, and hot plates on electric cookers. Once done, try replacing the fuse and turning the power back on. If the main trip goes again and there is nothing plugged in then there is probably a problem with the wiring and you’ll need an electrician.
7. If the power remains on and the main trip does not operate, then one or more of the appliances you have removed is faulty. Turn off the power again and plug in and switch on ONE appliance before switching the main power back on. Repeat this until the main trip switch goes. When this happens the last thing you plugged in should be removed before testing again. If the power stays on, you’ve found your faulty appliance.
If you have found a fault with your wiring, an appliance or your fuse box, it’s always best to use a qualified electrician rather than try to repair the fault yourself.
If you’ve checked your fuses or trip switches and your appliances and wiring are not faulty, you should report the power cut.
Contact the Power Cut line on 105 or you can also contact SSE on twitter @ssencommunity where one of their fully trained members of staff will be happy to help. You can also use the PowerTrack app and site to check the status of planned and un-planned outages: powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack
Safety Alarms
A lot of alarm systems will already have a battery back-up to ensure they store entry codes and other system information in the event of a power interruption. If you have any concerns regarding your alarm system it is best to contact the installer.
Electronic locking systems should automatically switch to unlocked if the electricity supply is interrupted, they should do this for safety reasons. If you know or have any concerns that a power cut is going to happen you might want to make alternative security arrangements. When electricity is restored, it is best to double check that all the equipment has returned to its previous locking state. It’s best to contact the installer or maintenance company for more specific details about how your own alarm may be affected during a power cut.
Fire Alarms – Most fire alarms will switch to battery back-up mode automatically in the event of a power cut. Make sure you test your fire alarm regularly.
To find out more from SSE and power cuts, visit: www.ssen.co.uk/PowerCuts/
