power off/on


  #1  
Old 12-20-12, 07:13 PM
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power off/on

Hi , Ii wanted to ask a question on event that happened earlier after the rain/high winds-45mph we had.Ive not seen this occur in a long time- I get a power outage say 14 seconds then back on...again in a few minutes off 30 seconds or so and again in 10 min 35 or so seconds.. lights slowly dim for a fraction of a sec. before going out.like its dying .again in and hour same on/off 4 more times...(i did report it to power co. some other reports were in also) .I also noticed street lights out..what is happening to cause this..? wind shorting it out,or maybe surges?
-now its fine.
Is it best to shut main breaker off if this ever happens again?
Any info is appreciated
 
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Old 12-20-12, 07:39 PM
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I also noticed street lights out..what is happening to cause this..? wind shorting it out,or maybe surges?
-now its fine.
Is it best to shut main breaker off if this ever happens again?
High winds and ice are probably the two biggest causes of outages. In your case, wind is the culprit. I never turn my main breaker off.
 
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Old 12-20-12, 11:05 PM
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it the reclosure or auto reclosure "taking place" via the incoming line ?
 
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Old 12-20-12, 11:20 PM
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earlier after the rain/high winds-45mph we had.Ive not seen this occur in a long time- I get a power outage say 14 seconds then back on...again in a few minutes off 30 seconds or so and again in 10 min 35 or so seconds.. lights slowly dim for a fraction of a sec. before going out.like its dying .again in and hour same on/off 4 more times...(i did report it to power co. some other reports were in also) .I also noticed street lights out..what is happening to cause this..?
What you're describing sounds like what customers typically experience when the electrical grid loses one source of power and automatically picks up a different one.

Most modern street lights have to go through a restarting process after losing power, so it takes them longer to get to full brightness.
 
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Old 12-21-12, 06:11 AM
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A tree branch can short the lines, which causes the quick brownout. The breaker at the substation shuts down the power because of the short. The system then waits 10 to 15 seconds and turns the power back on to see if the short is cleared. The cycle repeats. In my area the third time's the charm -- the power stays off until humans inspect the lines and clear the problem.
 
 

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