What to do when a storm has cut the power or damaged the wiring, and how to tell whether the first call goes to 911, to Oncor or to an electrician.
Downed Lines, Sparks or Smoke: Call 911 First
If a line is down, anything is sparking, or you see smoke or smell burning, leave the building and call 911 before anything else. Treat every downed line as live, and keep children and pets away from it and from any fence or water it touches.
North Texas weather is hard on the equipment that brings power into a house. Spring thunderstorms bring lightning, hail and high wind, and a falling limb can drag the service drop, the wires from the pole, off the house. Winter freezes load branches and lines with ice until something gives. Even a long run of summer heat plays a part: an overloaded transformer on the street can fail, and low voltage leaves air conditioner and refrigerator motors laboring.
Some of that damage is Oncor’s to repair, since it owns the lines, the drop and the meter across Dallas and most of the nearby cities. Most of Garland is served instead by Garland Power & Light, the city’s own utility, which plays the same part there. The rest belongs to the house: the meter base, the service mast and weatherhead, the panel and the wiring inside. Which side a problem sits on decides the first call.
Storm trouble can start on either side of the meter, so a likely cause is a starting point rather than a verdict.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The whole house is dark while the neighbors have power | A tripped main breaker, a damaged service drop, or a burned connection at the meter or the meter base | Reset the main breaker once if it has tripped. If the drop looks damaged, call Oncor; if not, an electrician checks the meter base and the main. |
| Half the house is dead, or some rooms work and others do not | One of the two incoming hot wires has lost its connection, in the drop, at the meter base or at the main breaker | Switch off large appliances. Oncor checks the drop and the meter; an electrician repairs the meter base, the main breaker or the panel connections. |
| The service mast or weatherhead is bent or pulled loose | Wind or a falling limb pulling on the service drop | Keep clear, because the wires are still live. The mast and weatherhead are the owner’s to repair, and Oncor usually disconnects and reconnects the drop around that work. |
| Lights surge, flare or dim | A loose or broken neutral wire, on the drop or inside the panel | Unplug electronics. If the neighbors’ lights do the same, report it to Oncor; if not, an electrician repairs the neutral connection. |
| Outlets or boxes have taken on water | Wind-driven rain, a roof leak or standing water reaching outlets, switches or fixtures | Switch the circuit off if the panel is dry and you are on dry ground, and plug nothing in. Wet devices are replaced, not dried out. |
| A burning smell after a surge | Overheated wiring, a damaged outlet or a device that failed in the surge | Leave the building and call 911 first. Once the fire department has cleared the house, an electrician traces the damage. |
Water reaches wiring in more places than the obvious one. Rain driven under siding or through a damaged roof can follow the cables into ceiling boxes, light fixtures and outlets well away from the leak, and a flooded garage leaves its lower outlets sitting in water. Even when a box looks dry, the silt and minerals the water carried are still inside it, and corrosion keeps working on the contacts.
The equipment makers’ guidance is to replace breakers, outlets, switches and GFCI devices that have been under water rather than dry them out and use them again. Wire that sat in water may need replacing too, depending on its type and how long it was wet. Until it has been looked at, keep that circuit switched off and the cords out of its outlets.
Lightning does not have to strike the house to do harm. A strike nearby can send a surge down the lines that ruins electronics, appliance controls and garage door openers, and the moment the power comes back after an outage can bring a surge of its own. A whole-house surge protector at the panel takes the brunt of a surge from outside, and plug-in surge strips at the television and computer catch what gets past it; the two work best together.
The first call depends on three things: whether anything is dangerous, whether the street is dark, and where the damage sits. A line on the ground, or anything sparking or smoking, is for 911. An outage across the street, or damage on the pole side, is Oncor’s. Damage at the meter base, the mast, the weatherhead or inside the house is work for an electrician.
Three questions point to the first call after a storm: 911, Oncor or an electrician.
Answer the three questions, then press the button.
In general, Oncor owns the poles and lines, the transformers, the service drop that runs to the house and the meter itself. The homeowner’s side starts at the meter base, the box the meter plugs into, and takes in the service mast and weatherhead on the house and everything inside: the panel, the breakers and the wiring. Underground service can divide a little differently, so the details for a particular property are Oncor’s to confirm.
The drop is Oncor’s; the mast, the weatherhead and the meter base are the owner’s. Usually an electrician repairs or replaces the damaged parts on the house first, and Oncor then reconnects the drop. Where the city requires an inspection before the power goes back on, it comes in between. Leave the limb where it lies until the wires are safe.
When its crew finds the line, the drop and the meter working, the trouble is on the house side, where Oncor does not make repairs. The same goes for a damaged meter base or mast: Oncor will usually not reconnect the drop until that equipment has been repaired.
Once the danger has passed, the repair visit follows the same steps as any other job.
Once the lines are safe, call or send a request describing the damage at the mast, the meter base or inside the house.
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