Hundreds, sometimes thousands of folks lose power every day in our area. Specifically, I’m speaking in regards to CenterPoint Energy’s service region here in the greater Houston-metro area. When this happens, here are a few things to help you get your power back ON as quickly as possible.
Check the CenterPoint Energy Outage Tracker. Here’s the link.
If you don’t see a reported outage in your area already being tracked by CenterPoint, you’ll need to do the following:
Check with neighbors and see if their power is also out, if so, more than likely it is a CenterPoint related issue and simply needs reporting to them and the patience to await power restoration.
If your business or home is the only one without power, you need an electrician.
Typically, if you’re the only business or residence without power, the electrician will need to make some determinations with some quick, simple troubleshooting. Below are some common causes of power outages that are your responsibility to maintain and repair:
Burnt connections or wiring at the electrical service. Let’s face it, sometimes things get “hot” in Texas and connections simply work loose and “burn”.
Failed metering equipment. Although the power companies’ meter is supplied by them, the housing for the meter is maintained by you as the owner.
Blown fuses. Sometimes fuses blow during weather related “power surges” or a variety of other reasons such as, too much power being consumed on your premises. Wiring that has shorted or faulted and needs repair. Fuses are old and unreliable.
Breakers tripped. Sometimes your breakers trip and need to be reset. Ultimately the cause of the breaker trip could be the same cause that make fuses blow as described above.
When you get power back on here’s some things you’ll want to be mindful of:
You’ll want to start up and test all machinery, equipment, or HVAC systems to make sure they’re running properly. Often, when power fails, equipment will go into a “safe-mode” which is meant to protect itself from improper voltages, etc.
Make sure your equipment is brought back online properly and checked out before assuming all is well. Document any damaged equipment, machinery, computers, or HVAC systems. CenterPoint Energy has a claims process that can help get those items replaced when the local power grid fails and it falls on them for responsibility. Here’s a link to their claims policy.