Where to call when a power outage: how to find out why it was turned off and when the lights

Today, even a short power outage is perceived as a small local disaster: almost all household appliances stop working, enterprises get up, and if the trouble happened at night, then the cities are plunged into unusual darkness.

You need to be prepared and know where to call - if the electricity was cut off as planned or an emergency cable break occurred. And perhaps the food in the home network disappeared due to debts - we will consider this and other unpleasant cases more thoroughly.

Reasons for a power outage

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

First, consider common outages. The supply of electricity can be stopped for two reasons:

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

Accidents are rare, and scheduled breaks are usually reported in advance.

New York at night during a massive power outage in the fall of 2012. Causes of shutdowns - overload of substations of all voltages triggered by ABP systems

It can be difficult to navigate the reasons for force majeure, especially if it is dark around. First you need to find out why and for how long they turned off the light, and then act according to the situation - try to solve the problem yourself or make a call to the right authority. We consider all cases in order.

More often, the shutdown occurs at the household level, in a single apartment or house. There are also many reasons, here are the most common:

How to act when turning off the light?

The easiest way to cope with a situation when it is familiar and occurs regularly. But light usually disappears unexpectedly and at the most inopportune moment. What to do if electricity is lost in the apartment, in the whole house or the whole area is plunged into darkness?

Circuit breakers tripped

Short circuit - and now in the kitchen does not work either a kettle, or a toaster, or a refrigerator. But in the remaining rooms it is light, so there is no reason to worry and you do not need to call any services.

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

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

If the wires or electrical installations are damaged, you should call, but not to the representatives of the management company or the electricity supplier in order to find out the reasons, but to the dispatcher to call the master at home

Management companies usually have their own electricians on a salary, which service subordinate houses during business hours - from 8.00 to 18.00-20.00. You can also contact the private trader, but the call and repair fees will be higher.

Planned work in the area

It is impossible to do without a periodic shutdown for the purpose of carrying out repair work - both equipment prophylaxis and the replacement of parts that have worked out their life are required. However, planned outages occur infrequently, and information on periods of outages is communicated to consumers in advance.

There are several ways to place warning announcements:

• on the website of Energosbyt;
• on the Internet portal of the government of a region or territory;
• on a site or in a group of a management company, if it is an intermediary between users and the supplier;
• in printed periodicals;
• on television and radio;
• in ads placed on information boards in the entrances.

Sometimes representatives of the Criminal Code or Homeowners Association report data to each tenant, simply laying out flyers on mailboxes or pasting ads directly on the porch doors.

In announcements of current work, indicate the exact date and time of the shutdown, as well as the reason and addresses of the houses. At the end, they must prescribe a phone on which you can ask additional questions

Suppose that you did not see the announcement, how then to find out - when will the light come on and where to call?

If the house is managed by the Criminal Code or Homeowners Association, then you need to make a call on the phone number specified in the contacts of the company.You can dial the number of the electricity supplier that you pay on a monthly basis, that is, Energy sales.

During such “hot” periods, an employee is on duty on the line, who will answer questions in detail. Mostly, people are wondering if light will come soon.

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

The emergency situation in the city / village

Everything is more complicated if the shutdown occurs suddenly, without warnings and announcements. Accidents often occur due to malfunctioning equipment or due to improper operation. Sometimes nature interferes in the well-being of citizens - such situations can hardly be foreseen.

A series of hurricanes sweeping across the country causes a lot of trouble to energy suppliers. The wind uproots trees and throws them on power lines. Repair of lines, especially in remote areas, lasts several days.

Of course, it is impossible to predict an emergency shutdown, so in this situation you can find out the reasons for the shutdown and the approximate timing of the restoration of the power supply only by calling.

So where to call - if the apartment has not had light for a long time or the outage happened suddenly, without warning? You can start with your UK or HOA - they are usually up to date. If the phone does not answer there, then you should call the emergency line of the supplier company.

In city and district offices of Energosbyt, the telephone of the dispatch service or specialist is usually available, by which you can find out the details of the accident

Unfortunately, the timing of the restoration work is not specified by law. This means that there are no guarantees for a quick connection. Therefore, residents, especially in regions with unstable climatic conditions, should be prepared for emergency shutdown: always have backup power sources at 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 during the period specified in the contract, or willfully connect to the line.

Forced shutdown of the deadbeat lawmakers allowed the electricity supplier. Personnel sent to shutdown have a “job assignment”

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

But each tenant should know that the shutdown is carried out only after notification. At least 10 days are allotted to pay off the debt, during which you can pay and prevent the outage.

If the accumulated debt is liquidated, the supplier must resume the supply of electricity to the apartment within 24 hours, otherwise you can make a claim

Where to go if you consider it unlawful to disconnect for non-payment? It is best to communicate with a representative of Energosbyt, who has all the data on recent payments. Be prepared to present receipts or statements about the timely deposit of money into the company account. If the shutdown has occurred due to a supplier error, it must repair the damage.

What phones do you need to know?

Considering that electricity is lost not only through your fault, you should prepare a list of useful phones that you should call during a trip:

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

Usually these contacts are enough to find out the cause of the shutdown and find out about the time of restoration of the power supply to the house.

The operational dispatching services operate around the clock, so even at night you can make a call and make sure that by morning the electricity will reappear in the apartment.

How to 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. The blackout of one line is eliminated on its own or by calling an electrician.

If there is no power supply in the apartment, and the neighbors are fine, there is reason to start worrying - you may have missed the payment deadlines and are in debtor. Call the Energosbyt branch or the dispatcher of the management company and clarify the situation.

Everything is in order with payment - it means that you still have to call an electrician. We do not recommend repairing the electrical panel on our own, it is prohibited by law

If the neighbors do not have light, look out the window - the dark windows of the neighboring houses indicate a general shutdown of the street or neighborhood. This is either a planned outage, or an accident on the line. It is better to immediately call the emergency dispatch service and find out the timing of the reverse connection.

Note that in the circumstances of the situation, there is not always access to the Internet, so it’s better to put useful contacts in the phone’s notebook in advance.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Disputed cases with the Criminal Code:

Temporary shutdown ceases to be a problem if you foresee this trouble at the household level: stock up on lamps on batteries, connect an uninterruptible power supply to your computer, always keep the power bank for your phone charged and buy a dozen candles. And in the country or in a country house, you can use alternative energy sources, backup power systems and generators.

Want to share your personal experience in finding out the cause of a power outage? Have questions for which there is a desire to get an answer? Please write comments in the block below the text of the article.