Your kitchen lights stop working. Several outlets are dead. Other parts of the house still have power, and the air conditioner or electric oven may even appear to be running. It is easy to assume that you have a bad breaker or an electrical problem inside the house. However, this combination of symptoms can indicate a problem with the electrical service coming from the power company. Kilowatt Electric has responded to several recent calls involving partial or intermittent power. In many of these cases, the problem was ultimately traced to a utility-side connection rather than the home’s wiring.
Most homes receive two 120-volt power lines, often called “legs,” along with a neutral connection.
Standard lights and outlets generally use one 120-volt leg and the neutral. Larger equipment, such as many electric ovens, dryers, water heaters, and air-conditioning systems, commonly uses 240 volts across both legs. A problem with a service conductor, utility connection, or neutral can produce confusing symptoms.
Depending on the failure, customers may notice:
These symptoms should not be ignored just because some equipment still works.
The neutral helps keep voltage stable across a home’s 120-volt circuits. If the neutral connection becomes loose or is lost, voltage can become unbalanced. Some lights may become very dim while others become unusually bright. Certain appliances may stop working, while others receive more voltage than they are designed to handle. Meanwhile, some 240-volt equipment may continue operating, making it seem as though the home still has normal power. This condition can damage electronics and appliances and may create a shock or fire risk. Do not open the electrical panel, touch the meter, or attempt to repair utility service connections yourself.
If several unrelated lights and outlets lose power while other parts of the home remain energized, call your power company and report a “partial outage” or “voltage problem.” Tell the representative exactly what you are seeing. You can say: “Several of my 120-volt lights and outlets are not working, but some larger 240-volt equipment still appears to run. Please check the service conductors and neutral connection.” The power company can inspect the lines, transformer connections, service connections, and other equipment it owns or maintains. If the utility confirms that its equipment and connections are working correctly, the next step is to call a qualified electrician to inspect the customer-owned portion of the electrical system.
Avoid using sensitive electronics or major appliances until the voltage problem has been evaluated. If it is safe and there are no signs of heat or damage, unplug sensitive devices such as televisions, computers, and chargers. Keep everyone away from the electrical panel, meter, service wires, and damaged equipment. If you see smoke, sparking, a damaged service line, or fire, move to a safe location and contact emergency services and the power company immediately.
A partial outage affecting unrelated rooms or circuits is usually not solved by repeatedly resetting breakers. A breaker that looks normal does not mean the incoming power is normal. Continuing to operate appliances during unstable voltage can damage your equipment. Let the utility or a qualified electrician determine the source of the problem.
When some lights and outlets stop working but other equipment continues running, contacting the power company first may save you an unnecessary electrical service call. Ask the utility to check its service connections, including the neutral. If the power company clears its side or determines that the problem belongs to the homeowner, Kilowatt Electric is ready to help locate the issue and restore safe, reliable power.
