Power out in part of the house

Stop first if you notice any of these

Do not troubleshoot. Leave the area and call for help if you see or smell:

• A burning or rubbery smell
• Buzzing, crackling or sparks from an outlet, switch or the panel
• A hot or discolored outlet, switch plate or panel door
• Water near the panel, outlets or meter
• Smoke, which means call 911

SCE says to call 911 for electrical equipment that is on fire, smoking or sparking, and never to put water on an electrical fire. NFPA lists warm or discolored outlets, a burning smell, sparks and dimming or flickering lights as reasons to call a qualified electrician. The emergency electrician page explains who to call and what to do while you wait.

Step 1: Is it your home only?

SCE asks customers to check whether neighbors’ lights are off too before they call. That tells you if the cause is on the street or in your house. If the whole block is dark, report it to your utility and wait. If your neighbors have power and part of your home does not, keep going.

Also note which parts are dead. A pattern helps the electrician. Is it one wing of the house, one floor, the kitchen, the garage? Do the big 240-volt appliances, such as the range, dryer or air conditioner, still work?

Step 2: Reset every GFCI

One GFCI outlet can cut power to other outlets after it on the same circuit. NFPA says homes should have GFCIs in the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, basement, garage and outdoor areas. A tripped one is often hidden: look in the garage, on the outside wall, in a bathroom and behind a shelf. Press RESET on each. If one will not reset, or trips right away, leave it and see the outlet not working page.

Step 3: Look at the panel

SCE’s steps for a tripped breaker, in short:

1. Turn off the light switches and unplug appliances in the rooms that lost power.
2. Open the panel door and look for a breaker in the off position or in the middle position.
3. Push it fully to off, then back to on. Use one hand and stand to the side, in case of arcing.

If the breaker trips again, SCE says the cause may be too many devices, a damaged cord or plug, a short in a fixture or outlet, or faulty wiring. Reset it only after the problem is fixed, and call an electrician if it keeps tripping. The breaker keeps tripping page covers that case.

Do not open the cover that hides the wires inside the panel. Only touch the breaker handles.

Step 4: AFCI breakers and shared circuits

Two things can make a dead area confusing.

AFCI breakers. An arc-fault breaker shuts off a circuit when it detects dangerous arcing. NFPA recommends AFCIs and says to test AFCIs and GFCIs once a month. If one trips for no clear reason, the wiring or a cord on that circuit may be at fault. The GFCI and AFCI page explains the difference.

Shared circuits. In older homes, a single breaker can feed outlets in more than one room, so the dead area may not match your idea of the room layout. Plug a lamp into the dead outlets to confirm they are dead, and keep a list.

When the problem is bigger than a breaker

Sometimes the loss is not a tripped device. The fault can be at the meter, at the main breaker, at a connection in the service, or on the utility side. Signs include:

• A large part of the house is dark, and big 240-volt appliances stopped too
• No tripped breaker anywhere, and every GFCI is set
• A main breaker that trips, or will not reset
• Lights that are dim in some rooms and unusually bright in others, or buzzing appliances

Utilities, such as DTE, list dim or overly bright lights among the signs of a voltage problem, and say abnormal voltage can cause problems for equipment. A connection problem in the service can cause that mix. If you see it, turn off computers and sensitive electronics if you can do it safely, stay out of the panel, and call your utility and an electrician right away. If there is a hot smell, smoke or sparks, call 911.

Utilities generally handle the lines up to the meter. The electrician handles the wiring from the meter into the home. Reporting it to the utility first is reasonable when you are not sure.

What an electrician checks

An electrician will usually test voltage at the meter, the main breaker and the panel, then work out which circuits are dead. The fix might be a failed breaker, a loose or burned connection, a bad GFCI, or damaged wire. A burned connection at the panel can also show up as a hot or discolored breaker. The service call cost page shows the typical SoCal range for a diagnostic visit.

While you wait

• Unplug sensitive electronics and large appliances from the dead and the live areas
• Do not run extension cords across rooms to borrow power from another circuit. USFA says to plug major appliances directly into a wall outlet and not to use extension cords with them
• Keep the refrigerator closed
• Leave the panel door closed once you are done looking
• Take photos of the panel, the breaker positions and any marks to send to the electrician