What are the major causes of power outages?
When your power unexpectedly goes out, you immediately want to know why. Not to necessarily to assign blame, but to do what you can to get this valuable commodity flowing again as soon as possible. Is the power out throughout your entire home or business? Then it is probably time to report the outage to your power company by calling them or by utilizing tools on their website. If the outage is limited to a room or two, check your fuse box or circuit breaker as the problem likely lies within.
Once you have established that the problem is outside your home or business, and you have reported it, there really is nothing else you can do but wait for it to come back on. Typically, in less than three hours, the power (and your life) resumes. If the cause of the outage is a major storm like a hurricane or tornado, it could take much longer. Unless, the reason for the outage is caused by a local storm, you may never know why you were left in the dark.
The following are common reasons your power may have gone out.
Lightning
Lightning is a leading cause of electrical failures. Lightning may strike poles, wires and transformers, can cause a localized outage. Lightning striking trees may cause a tree or limbs to fall onto above-ground lines. This may cause a short-circuit or may even break wires.
Wind
Wind is not the friend of the power company. Strong winds can wreak havoc on the system with short-circuiting between lines caused by the wind itself or trees and branches that end up touching or breaking wires.
Ice and Snow
Heavy ice and snow can build up on power lines and cause them to break. However, trees and branches are often the culprit as heavy snow on branches can cause them to break and fall into power lines.
Flooding
Floods caused by heavy rain or melting snow can cause an outage when it comes in contact with electrical equipment located either above or above or below ground.
Vehicle Accidents
Vehicles colliding with electrical poles or other electrical equipment are a frequent cause of outages. While no one likes for their power to go out, accidents like these often have dire consequences for the driver and passengers of the vehicle.
Small Animals
Small animals, most notably squirrels, are a common cause of outages when they come in contact with fuses or transformers. To a squirrel, the electrical pole looks just like another tree.
Trees
Trees and branches falling on power lines was previously mentioned as a reason for outages in stormy weather. The truth is, damage from trees can occur even when the weather is good. This is the reason that power companies are vigilent about cutting trees and trimming branches located near power lines.
Construction Accidents
Digging with large equipment used in the construction industry, can cause power outages when underground cables are accidentally cut. Although construction companies should have all lines identified before digging and plan to avoid them, accidents do happen.
Landscaping Accidents
Landscapers and home improvement enthusiats, have accidents too. Anyone who plans on digging must call Digger’s Hotline to request marking the underground lines. Even if you think you know where underground cables are located, make the call! It only takes a couple of days to get your underground cables marked.
Brownouts
Brownouts often occur when the electrical system is over taxed with electrical customers using more power than usual due to excessive heat. Dimming or flickering lights may be a sign of a brownout and localized blackouts may soon follow. Beware of brownouts when air conditioner usage is heavy on a hot day.
Rolling Blackouts
Rolling blackouts may occur when power usage is forecasted to exceed a utility’s capacity and a decision is made, in conjunction with state or local authorities, to shut off all power to certain geographical locations in order to share the pain and to avoid brownout conditions. This is usually done on a rolling basis so everyone has the opportunity to use some power.
Electrical Grid Failures
Grid failures describe the condition where a portion of the overall electrical distribution system fails. While this is very uncommon, it is possible when there is a catastrophic failure of equipment. The failure may be caused by old or aging equipment or by a force outside of the utility company’s immediate control like hackers or terrorists. Electrical grid failures may result in wide-spread blackouts of lengthy duration. Electrical grid failures are a worst-case scenario.
What Can You Do About Power Outages?
Short of maintaining your own electrical equipment or generating your own power, not much. Rest assured that power companies do not like power outages any more than you. The best advice is to be prepared for living without power for a time. Outfitting your home or business with power outage lights by Safelumin may be a good way to start!