What is an outage
An outage occurs when electricity stops being supplied to an end-user, such as a home, a business, or an entire area. There are many reasons why an outage would occur. These can be known issues such as when hot weather adds extra pressure on the grid, to unexpected issues that happen without notice, like powerlines falling.
There are different types of power outages that can occur, including:
- planned outages, which happen when energy companies need to turn off the power for maintenance or upgrades
- unplanned outages, which occur unexpectedly due to things like storms, equipment failure or accidents
- rolling blackouts, where power is intentionally turned off in different areas for short periods to prevent the grid from being overloaded. This may be referred to as load sharing or load shedding.
During an energy emergency, power may have to be turned off to some areas, known as load sharing and load shedding, until the grid has been stabilised. This happens rapidly and customers will not be notified before they occur.
What to do if a power outage occurs
You can take important steps to prepare and stay safe when a power outage occurs.
If your electricity supply is threatened it is important to know what to do to be prepared.
Call Triple Zero (000) immediately in life-threatening or emergency situations, always follow the advice and instructions of emergency services.
Get updates
If an outage occurs in your area, check with your network provider for updates. Details about your network provider can usually be found on your electricity bill or on the Australian Energy Regulator’s website.
Safely look after your home
- Turn off and unplug any sensitive appliances such as TVs, computers and Wi-Fi routers, to prevent damage when power is restored. Consider surge protection power boards.
- Follow the NSW Food Authority’s advice on food safety after a power failure. Try to keep food safe by avoiding opening the fridge and freezer. A closed fridge can keep food cold for up to 4 hours and a closed freezer can stay cold for 24 hours.
- Always use your home appliances for their intended purposes and follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions. This is especially important for appliances designed to be used outdoors and produce toxic gases that can cause injury or death if they build up inside. These include:
- external or portable generators
- woodfired, gas and charcoal barbeques or heaters.
- Do not attempt to rewire your house to incorporate any external power generation sources, such as a battery or an external or portable generator.
- Consider leaving a light on, to show you when power has been restored.
- Continue to follow the instructions of emergency services and your network provider.
- Inspect your home once the power returns to check for any risks or issues caused by the outage. If you find any risks or issues do not attempt to repair them, contact your network provider or ASP2 electrician.
- If there are non-urgent problems, contact your electricity provider (the company that sends you your electricity bill) for assistance.