Power Outage | Causes, Types and How To Prepare

It always takes a second to realize what has just happened when a blackout occurs from out of nowhere. You can be relaxing at home watching TV, or maybe you’re doing something really important in the office or even doing an online exam at school, and all of sudden… a blackout.

With energy becoming more of a problem throughout Brisbane, Australia and the entire world, knowing about blackouts seems more important now than ever.

With heatwaves becoming increasingly common in Brisbane’s summer. The demand for air conditioning installation and use also goes up. Sadly, when temperatures are extreme, the “higher than usual levels of electricity” can put pressure on the grid and the overall power supply.

But there are other causes.

Types of Blackouts and Causes

There are four basic types of power cuts, each caused by a different reason and has to be rectified in its own way.

Blackout 

As suggested by its name, a blackout is a complete shutdown of power and electricity. A blackout will only occur if a major problem has taken place. A typical cause can be a natural disaster such as a storm, hurricane or earthquake that has passed through town and wreaked havoc, or there has been a severe malfunction of the city’s power grid.

A blackout usually takes away all power for a large number of people. Entire districts or neighborhoods can be affected and if this happens to you, then be prepared, because remedying a blackout is notoriously difficult and can take quite some time, from 12 hours all the way up to a few weeks!

Brownout 

You know when everything is completely normal and then unexpectedly all the lights drop in voltage, usually in a movie this is a sign something bad is about to happen, there are many different terms for it, like fluctuation, but it’s also known as a brownout.

Brownouts don’t usually last for a long period of time and don’t have the same damaging effect that blackouts do, however, they do alter the power and performance of your appliances and equipment. 

A brownout at an unfortunate time can be annoying, however, you just need to wait it out before the voltage returns to its normal level.

Permanent Fault 

A permanent fault is very common and occurs in every household. It’s often caused by using too many high energy-consuming appliances at the same time. 

Fixing it generally involves finding the electrical box in your home and identifying which switch is off (it’s the only switch in the opposite direction of the rest) and flicking it back on. That generally fixes the problem, however, if it continues to happen it means you have to do some investigating and find out what appliance you have to unplug for it to stop.

If you find this happening regularly to your home, and not to your neighbors’ homes, then it’s best to call your electricity supplier and have them send out an expert. 

Rolling Blackouts 

If you start experiencing rolling blackouts, you need to start planning your move out of where you’re currently living because there is nothing you can personally do about rolling blackouts.

Common causes for this are that the power grid of your city which powers your area is not strong or stable enough and the infrastructure does not possess the capability to generate and supply the amount of power required of it.

Key Steps to Take During a Power Outage

As soon as all the lights have gone, there are a few essential steps you should take to be prepared for the situation:

1. Look at your window to see if there is light coming from the houses around you. If there is, you know the problem is within your home, if there isn’t then you know it’s a bigger problem.
2. If the problem is from within your home, go to the electric box and turn back on whichever switch has been tripped. If it continues to happen then you’ll have to do a little trial and error, taking out various plugs from their sockets to see what’s causing the issue.
3. If you see it’s your entire street/neighborhood which has lost power, then it’s better to expect it to be gone for a while.
4. If that was not a planned interruption, contact Energex to report it.
5. Find light sources such as candles and torches, turn your devices on power saving mode as you won’t be able to recharge them, if you have a fireplace then prepare that for warmth and check to see if you still have data coverage as you can keep up to date with the local news to have an idea of what’s going on.

Be Prepared for a Power Outage!

You don’t need to wait until it happens for you to then prepare a kit for next time. Take initiative and prepare for the possibility. Some items which can come in handy are;

• Torchlight
• Batteries! – these can be very useful if your blackout lasts for a while
• Dry food and water 
• Medical kit
• Portable charger for your mobile phone
• Candles and matches – instead of draining your torch battery you can light a number of cheap candles and place them around the house, just be careful nothing catches fire!

Some of you, who have experience living rurally or live in an area with rolling blackouts may have a generator. If you do have one then check up on it from time to time, make sure it’s running smoothly, and if it’s a battery-powered generator have some spare batteries ready, and if it’s a petrol generator then have some extra fuel stored away because you don’t want to have to be trying to fix it in the dark!

FAQ’s

What Should I Do With My Electronic Devices?

Most of our homes are filled with electronic devices these days, and many of them are quite expensive, maybe the warranty has run out. If there’s a power outage, it’s recommended to take all the plugs out of the sockets.

When power returns it can come back in surges. If a surge is too powerful it can fry the motherboard of your device and ruin it so best not to take the risk and unplug.

If you leave one of the light switches on when the power does return you’ll know.

How to Plan for a Power Outage as a Business

Dealing with a power outage as a business owner can be a true nightmare. It all depends on the regularity of it, as planning extensively for a one-off, unexpected power cut can be a little excessive.

However if your business suffers from regular power outages then you have to prepare for it, especially if your business relies on electricity, like most do these days, from tech companies to restaurants, a blackout can mean disaster in cost damages for most businesses.

If your business starts suffering, call your power supplier and find out what they can do to prevent this from happening again, it’s also worth buying a generator to minimize disruption.