First: is anyone in danger?
If there is smoke, fire, sparking, or someone has had an electric shock, call 000 first. Stay well clear of fallen powerlines, at least 8 metres, and call 000 or Energex on 13 19 62.
Is it your house or the street?
- Look outside. If the street lights and your neighbours are out too, it is most likely a network fault.
- Check the Energex outage finder, or call Energex on 13 62 62.
- If only your home is out, or only part of it, the problem is usually on your side of the meter, and that is where we come in.
Safe checks at your switchboard
- Open the switchboard and look for a safety switch or circuit breaker that has dropped to the off position.
- Switch it back on once. If it trips again straight away, leave it off.
- To find the cause, turn off or unplug appliances on that circuit, then try again. A faulty appliance is a common culprit.
- If it still won't stay on, or you can smell burning or see scorch marks, leave it off and call us.
What not to do
- Don't keep resetting a switch that trips straight away. It is telling you something is wrong.
- Don't take the cover off the switchboard or touch anything wet.
- Never run a generator through a power point. Back-feeding can kill someone working on the lines. A properly installed generator inlet is the safe way.
From our job sheets
A lot of our after-hours call-outs start this way: a safety switch that trips when it rains, a hot water system tripping the breaker, or a switchboard isolator that failed. In one Margate home the isolator had caught fire on a Saturday. We isolated it, disconnected it and made the home safe.
What it costs with us
Standard attendance and the first hour is $149 inc GST. After hours, attendance and the first hour is $249 inc GST. Our 24/7 emergency line is 0487 259 697. See emergency electrician and fault finding.