Power Out in Your House but Not Your Neighbours'? What to Check

What This Article Covers

A quick overview before you dive in:

• The safety checks to make before anything else, including when to call triple zero (000) and what to do about fallen powerlines.
• How to tell a street-wide outage from a problem at your home, using your neighbours, the streetlights and Ausgrid's outage map.
• What to look for on your switchboard, when it's safe to reset a tripped switch once, and when to leave it alone.
• Who to call next: your electricity network (Ausgrid, or Endeavour Energy in its area) for your meter and connection to the street, and a licensed electrician for faults inside your home.
• What to do while you wait, from protecting your fridge and unplugging sensitive equipment to using a generator safely and getting help for anyone who relies on medical equipment.

If the power is out in your house but not your neighbours', the cause is most likely at your home: a safety switch (RCD) or main switch that has tripped, a fault in your wiring, or a problem with your meter or the connection to the street. Check your switchboard first, safely. If nothing has tripped, report it to Ausgrid, and if the fault turns out to be inside your home, call a licensed electrician.

This step-by-step guide comes from Impulse Electrical Enterprise, a Sydney electrician based in Strathfield. We're licensed and insured, and our director, Matthew Neil, supervises every job. Our phones are answered 24/7, including public holidays, if you need us.

First, Make Sure Everyone Is Safe

• If there's smoke, fire or someone has had an electric shock, call triple zero (000) straight away.
• If you can see a fallen powerline, stay at least 8 metres away and call Ausgrid on 13 13 88, or Endeavour Energy on 131 003 if you're in its area. Assume it's live.
• If you can smell burning or see sparks, scorch marks or water at the switchboard, don't touch it. Keep everyone away and call an electrician.

Our guide to what to do first in an electrical emergency covers these situations in more detail.

Step 1: Check Whether It's Just Your Home

Look outside. Are the streetlights on? Do your neighbours have lights on? If the whole street is dark, it's a network outage and there's nothing to fix at your end: check Ausgrid's outage map for an estimated restore time, or report it if it isn't showing. If only your home is out, or only part of it, keep going.

This guide refers to Ausgrid. If your home is supplied by Endeavour Energy instead, use its outage information and report outages and faults on 131 003.

Step 2: Check Your Switchboard

Your switchboard is usually in a metal box on an outside wall, in the garage or in a hallway cupboard. Open the outer door only, never the inner cover, and look for anything switched to off:

• A safety switch or circuit breaker that has tripped. It will sit in the off position, or in the middle, while the others are on. If the switchboard is dry and undamaged and there's no burning smell, sparking or heat, switch it back on once.
• The main switch. If it's off, switch it back on once, on the same conditions.
• If it trips again straight away, leave it off. That switch has found a fault, and turning it back on again won't fix it. Our guide to why a safety switch keeps tripping explains what usually causes it.

If only one part of the house is out, such as one room or the kitchen, it's usually one tripped switch at the switchboard, and the fault is somewhere on that circuit. If nothing has tripped but part of the home is still off, or your lights keep flickering, it can be a problem with the supply to your home. Report it to Ausgrid on 13 13 88, or Endeavour Energy on 131 003 in its area, or call a licensed electrician.

Step 3: If Nothing Has Tripped, Report It to Ausgrid

If everything at the switchboard is on but your whole home has no power while the street does, the problem may be with your meter or the connection to the street. Ausgrid says to report it on 13 13 88 or online, and its officers will check your meter and connection wire for free.

Ausgrid can't repair customer equipment past the connection point. If the fault is inside your home, you'll need a licensed electrician. If it's a damaged service wire or private pole on your property, the repair needs an Accredited Service Provider (ASP) authorised to work on service lines, and Ausgrid's officer can advise you on next steps.

Step 4: Call an Electrician for Faults in Your Home

Call a licensed electrician if a switch keeps tripping, if part of the home stays off, if the switchboard is buzzing, hot or scorched, or if Ausgrid tells you the fault is inside your home. Don't try to find the fault yourself by opening the switchboard or a power point.

As an emergency electrician, we confirm the call-out price on the phone before we send anyone. After hours it's $250 + GST, and that applies in every suburb we attend. When the electrician arrives, they make the fault safe first, then talk you through any repair, which only goes ahead once you approve it.

While You Wait

• Keep the fridge and freezer closed. Food in the fridge can spoil after more than 4 hours without power, and a closed freezer should stay frozen for at least 24 hours.
• Unplug sensitive equipment such as TVs and computers, so a surge doesn't damage them when the power comes back.
• If someone at home relies on medical equipment, follow your backup plan, and call triple zero (000) if their life is at risk. Your electricity retailer keeps a register of life support customers and passes it to your network, so make sure you're on it.
• If you use a portable generator, plug appliances straight into it. Never connect it to your switchboard or house wiring.
• Use a torch, not candles.

Questions About Power Outages at Home

Why is my power out but my neighbour's is on?

Usually because something at your home has tripped, such as a safety switch or the main switch, or there's a fault in your wiring, meter or connection to the street. Check your switchboard safely first, then call Ausgrid if nothing has tripped.

Who do I call if my power is out?

For a street-wide outage, or if nothing has tripped at your switchboard, call Ausgrid on 13 13 88, or Endeavour Energy on 131 003 if you're in its area. For a fault inside your home, such as a switch that keeps tripping, call a licensed electrician.

Is it safe to keep resetting my safety switch?

No. Reset it once if the switchboard is dry and undamaged and there's no burning smell, sparking or heat. If it trips again, leave it off and call an electrician.

Does Ausgrid charge to check my meter?

Ausgrid says its officers will check your meter and connection wire for free when you report that your home has no power and the street does.

Still No Power? Call Us

If your switchboard keeps tripping or Ausgrid has told you the fault is inside your home, call us on 0481 228 836. Our phones are answered 24/7, including public holidays. For something that can wait until business hours, request a free quote.