Where to call when there is a power outage: how to find out why it was turned off and when the power will be restored

Today, even a short power outage is perceived as a small local disaster: almost all household appliances stop working, businesses shut down, and if the trouble happens at night, cities are plunged into unusual darkness.

You need to be prepared and know where to call - if there is a planned power outage or an emergency cable break occurs. Or perhaps the power in the home network was lost due to debts - we will consider this and other unpleasant cases more thoroughly.

Causes of power outage

The light in the apartments of city residents and the houses of rural residents disappears for various reasons. And the area of ​​disconnection can be different - from one apartment (house) to an entire microdistrict, or, less often, a city.

Let's first consider cases of general shutdown. The power supply may be interrupted for two reasons:

• in connection with planned preventive or repair work that is carried out from time to time on certain sections of the city network;
• due to an accident, the cause of which could be a lightning strike during a thunderstorm, overheating of power lines, a disruption in the operation of substations, and even a car accident that caused a telegraph pole to fall.

Accidents are rare, and planned outages are usually announced in advance.

New York City at night during a massive power outage in the fall of 2012.The reasons for the outages are overload of substations of all voltages triggered by ATS systems

It can be difficult to navigate the causes of force majeure, especially if it is dark around. First you need to find out why and for how long the power was turned off, and then act depending on the situation - try to solve the problem yourself or call the right authority. Let's consider all cases in order.

More often, shutdowns occur at the household level, in a separate apartment or house. There are also many reasons, here are the most common:

What to do when the lights go out?

It is easiest to cope with a situation when it is familiar and happens regularly. But the light usually disappears unexpectedly and at the most inopportune moment. What to do if the electricity goes out in the apartment, in the entire house, or the entire area is plunged into darkness?

The circuit breakers on the panel tripped

A short circuit - and now neither the kettle, nor the toaster, nor the refrigerator works in the kitchen. But the rest of the rooms are light, so there is no reason to worry and there is no need to call any services.

When designing a home electrical network, engineers provide for equipping the apartment panel with an input and several output circuit breakers. The latter protect wiring: room groups, powerful consumers

What to do if, as they said before, “the traffic jams are out”? If you have access to the electrical panel, you need to find the switched off machine and put it back into working condition. You must first eliminate the cause of the operation - disconnect the faulty device from the power supply or reduce the load on the line.

If wires or electrical installations are damaged, you should call, but not the representatives of the management company or the electricity supplier to find out the reasons, but the dispatcher to call a repairman to your home

Management companies usually have their own salaried electricians who service subordinate houses during working hours - from 8.00 to 18.00-20.00. You can also contact a private owner, but the call and repair fees will be higher.

Planned work in the area

It is impossible to do without periodic shutdowns for the purpose of repair work - both equipment maintenance and replacement of worn-out parts are required. However, planned outages occur infrequently, and information about outage periods is communicated to consumers in advance.

There are several ways to place warning ads:

• on the Energosbyt website;
• on the Internet portal of the regional or regional government;
• on the site or in the group of the management company, if it is an intermediary between users and the supplier;
• in printed periodicals;
• on television and radio;
• in advertisements posted on information boards at the entrances.

Sometimes representatives of the management company or HOA convey information to each resident by simply placing flyers in mailboxes or sticking advertisements directly on the entrance doors.

Notices announcing ongoing work indicate the exact dates and times of outages, as well as the reason and addresses of the houses. At the end, be sure to provide a phone number where you can ask additional questions.

Suppose you didn’t see the advertisement, how then will you find out when the power will be on and where to call?

If the house is managed by a management company or HOA, then you need to make a call to the phone number specified in the company’s contacts. You can dial the number of the electricity supplier to whom you pay monthly, that is, Energosbyt.

During such “hot” periods, an employee is on duty on the line to answer any questions in detail. Basically, people are interested in whether the light will come soon

There are 2 rules, in case of violation of which the supplier is obliged to compensate consumers for losses: the period of a one-time planned outage is limited to 24 hours, and the total time for the year is 72 hours. If the conditions are not met, then the tenants have the right to sue, but having evidence that the deadlines were violated or there was no warning.

Emergency situation in the city/village

Everything is more complicated if the shutdown occurs suddenly, without warnings or announcements.Accidents often occur due to faulty equipment or improper operation. Sometimes nature intervenes in the prosperous life of citizens - such situations are almost impossible to predict.

A series of hurricanes sweeping across the country is causing a lot of trouble for energy suppliers. The wind uproots trees and throws them onto power lines. Repairing lines, especially in remote areas, takes several days

Of course, it is impossible to predict an emergency outage, so in this situation you can only find out about the reasons for the outage and the approximate time frame for restoring the power supply by calling.

So where should you call if there has been no light in the apartment for a long time or the outage happened suddenly, without warning? You can start with your management company or homeowners association - they are usually in the know. If the phone there does not answer, you should call the emergency line of the supplier company.

In the city and regional branches of Energosbyt there is usually a telephone number for a dispatch service or a specialist who can call you to find out the details of the accident

Unfortunately, the terms of restoration work are not stipulated by law. This means that there is no guarantee of a fast connection. Therefore, residents, especially in regions with unstable climatic conditions, must be prepared for an emergency shutdown: always have backup power sources on hand.

Sanctions for regular non-payment

The most unpleasant situation occurs when the light is turned off partially or completely for non-payment. This happens if the consumer does not pay money for the use of electricity within the period specified in the contract, or willfully connects to the line.

Legislators allowed the electricity supplier to forcibly disconnect the defaulter. Personnel sent to shutdown have a “task order”

To find out the period of delay, just look at the contract. Without it in hand, you can call the management company.

But every tenant should know that disconnection is carried out only after notification. At least 10 days are allocated to repay the debt, during which you can make payments and prevent disconnection.

If the accumulated debt is liquidated, the supplier must restore electricity supply to the apartment within 24 hours, otherwise a claim can be filed

Where to go if you consider disconnection for non-payment to be unlawful? It is best to communicate with a representative of Energosbyt, who has all the data on the latest payments. Be prepared to show receipts or statements of timely deposits of money into the company account. If the shutdown occurred due to a supplier's error, he must compensate for the damage.

What telephone numbers do you need to know?

Considering that power outages are not entirely your fault, you should prepare a list of useful phone numbers to call during an outage:

• emergency dispatch service number of the management company (indicated on the receipt);
• number of the city operational dispatch service;
• single emergency number – 112;
• Energosbyt dispatch service number.

Usually these contacts are enough to find out the cause of the outage and find out about the time to restore power to the house.

Operational dispatch services operate around the clock, so even at night you can make a call and make sure that by the morning electricity will return to the apartment.

How to properly respond to a shutdown?

If the lights suddenly go out, there is no need to panic. First, make sure that there is no electricity in the entire apartment - use the switch in the next room. Blackout of one line can be repaired on your own or by calling an electrician.

If there is no electricity supply in the apartment, and everything is fine with the neighbors, there is reason to start worrying - perhaps you missed the payment deadlines and are in debt. Call the Energosbyt department or the management company dispatcher and clarify the situation.

Everything is in order with the payment - which means you still have to call an electrician. We do not recommend carrying out repair work on the electrical panel yourself; this is prohibited by law.

If your neighbors have no light, look out the window - the dark windows of neighboring houses indicate a general blackout of the street or neighborhood. This is either a planned outage or a line failure. It is better to immediately call the emergency dispatch service and find out the timing of the return connection.

Please note that in the current situation there is not always access to the Internet, so it is better to enter useful contacts in your phone notebook in advance.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Controversial cases with the Criminal Code:

Temporary shutdowns cease to be a problem if you provide for this nuisance at the everyday level: stock up on battery-powered lamps, connect an uninterruptible power supply to your computer, always keep the power bank for your phone charged and buy a dozen candles. And at the dacha or in a country house, you can use alternative energy sources, backup power systems and generators.

Would you like to share your personal experience in finding out the cause of a power outage? Do you have questions that you would like answered? Please write comments in the block located below the text of the article.