Little Known Info? Partial Power Outages

I have been a consumer advocate on energy issues since the 1990s. But I am still learning. Recently, I encountered something I hadn’t even known was possible: a partial power outage at my home.

One morning in December, I woke up and the clock in my bedroom was not working. I went to the bathroom and the lights were not working either. I told my wife that our power was out. She pointed out that this meant no coffee.

I got up, went downstairs, and realized that the light on our coffee maker was on. Good news, we had coffee. I turned on the kitchen lights and they came on. But it was clear that the heat was out (it was a cold morning), the stove was not working, and there was no hot water. I grabbed a flashlight and went downstairs to check the circuit breakers, finding that none of them had tripped. At this point it was clear that I had no electricity upstairs or in the basement. None of the house’s 240-volt outlets were working. But on the first floor of our house much of the electricity was still on.

Because I had some electricity, I assumed that the problem must be inside my house. I started looking for an electrician that had Saturday service. I finally found one who answered the phone and was told that weekend service would start at more than $700, but they suggested I call the electric company first because the problem might be on their end. A second electrician called me back and agreed that I should first call the electric company, saying that while I may have some power, there could be a branch touching the power line and I might not be getting full power.

So, I contacted PGE. They did not seem to think it was unusual that I had some power out, but not all of it, and agreed to send out a truck to check. The company’s online reporting form even has a box to check if you are experiencing a partial outage.

Later a PGE truck pulled up and I explained to the lineworker what had happened. He said he would disconnect my meter to get a reading and see if I was getting full power and if I wasn’t, he would go upstream from my house to find the problem. A few minutes later, he was up in his bucket truck across the street.

Then I heard my heat come on. I went outside to thank the PGE representative and let him know I now had heat again. He said there was a small branch touching the wire. I told him that when I called an electrician that morning, the electrician had told me that a tree branch might be the problem. He said I was lucky - sometimes electricians will charge the customer to come out when there is a partial outage, rather than tell them to call the power company first.

I learned that there is such a thing as a partial outage, and that it can be caused by a tree branch or other obstruction on the utility’s side of the meter. If this happens to you, check in with your electric utility provider first, before hiring an electrician.

I also want to thank PGE. The response from their call center was quick and easy. The lineworker who came to my house was polite, pleasant and efficient. The problem I did not even know could happen was fixed within a couple hours.

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