If you have no power to your house, it could be due to a number of causes, but if yours is the only house in the street without power you may have a problem with your service fuse.
Your service fuse is usually mounted on the eaves where the overhead power cable attaches to your house. It is designed to protect the supply authority cables and neighbouring properties from major faults in your electrical installation.
In Tasmania the service fuse cartridge and holder is the property of Tas Networks, and therefore they are responsible for any repairs to this equipment.
Unfortunately, they usually require the problem to be diagnosed and confirmed by a qualified electrician before they will attend.
Once your electrician confirms it is a service fuse fault, Tas Networks will attend and repair it free of charge, but you will have to pay your electrician for their attendance. In the past, some clients have had success in recovering this cost, usually in cases where there is an obvious fault in the Tas Networks equipment.
Quite often, it is not possible to know the cause of a blown service fuse, as when the blown 80 amp or 100 amp cartridge is replaced, everything works fine and no electrical faults are found.
Other causes of total loss of power can include a faulty main switch or a burnt up mains box connection. A tripped safety switch (earth leakage circuit breaker) can also lead to loss of power and lights in those installations where the safety switch has been installed to protect both power and light circuits.
One easy test you can do yourself is to turn on your oven. If the oven still works then it’s not a service fuse or Tas Networks problem, unless you have 2-phase or 3-phase power connected to your home, in which case it still could be. The vast majority of homes are connected to single phase power.
So, when your power goes out …
– Check to see if the neighbours have power, if they don’t have power then it’s likely to be a supply issue not just confined to your property.
– Check your oven. If the oven works the problem is most likely on your switchboard or another part of your electrical installation.
– Check your switchboard for blown fuses and tripped circuit breakers. (For circuit breakers, UP is ON)
– If your oven doesn’t work and the neighbours still have power it may be a service fuse fault.
– In that case phone Tas Networks on 132 004 where you can hear the latest messages on power outages for your area and request a service call to check your service fuse.
We have staff on standby for after hours emergencies and sometimes these problems can be sorted out over the phone without the need for an after hours callout.