The problem when, for some reason, we turned off the electricity, we are not so rare. By itself, this circumstance cannot be classified as an emergency. You can light candles, sit in such a chamber atmosphere and remember the old days. The evening can even turn out to be much more fun and, if I may say so, mentally warmer than with electric lighting and watching TV.
But there is another problem here as well. Residents of megacities have now become very dependent on the availability of electricity in their apartments. Some people won't be able to cook dinner. Someone needs to prepare for tomorrow's work day. Children need to do their homework. And with every hour spent without electricity, it becomes more and more difficult to solve a tangle of topical issues.
That's why when you have a power outage, you need to have an idea of what to do and where to call. And if there is no electricity for several days, then it’s just right to sound a real alarm. The consequences can be the most serious: from a defrosted refrigerator and spoiled food, to a shutdown of the water supply.
"Storm in the darkness..." or pay the bill on time
In a situation where the electricity was turned off in your apartment or house, you must, first of all, find out the causes of this incident. Of course, there can be a lot of them. But the main ones are:
- an accident at sources of electricity or on its supply lines
- emergency in the area where you live. No one has yet canceled natural disasters. Hurricanes, storms, floods, snowfalls, icing and so on
- the use in everyday life of electrical appliances that have exceeded the maximum power of your electrical network
- your failure to pay your electricity bills
- scheduled electrical work in your area
Let's try to understand each point in more detail.
Power failure
Given the fact that the electrical networks in our country are very worn out, this inevitably leads to various accidents of varying severity. Where should I call in this case? The answer lies, it seems, on the surface. You need to call the local organization that supplies power to the population in your area. You can easily find the phone number of this organization on the Internet. Sometimes it is printed on the receipt for the light. You will also do the right thing if you contact your Criminal Code or Housing Office at the place of residence.
But what to do if your lights were turned off on a day off or even at night. Where should I call then? There may not be anyone in the housing office. Then we will advise you to contact the EDDS. In our country, this service operates around the clock. The dispatcher, having received your call, will immediately respond to it and contact the necessary utilities. You will also be given advice if there really was a serious accident in the area and for this reason there is no electricity in the houses.
Just try not to take a long communication line, because at this time people who need real help from rescuers can call EDDS. The emergency telephone number in our country is single - 112. By the way, the dispatcher of the energy supply organization is obliged to notify the EDDS service if an accident occurs with the disconnection of energy consumers. That is why the EDDS dispatcher always has the most accurate and reliable information.
Also, when a natural or man-made emergency develops in your area, you should especially not think long about who to call if there is no light. The same phone is 112. Of course, the call to this service is free. It can even be done with a negative balance of funds on the SIM card of a mobile phone.
The load on the power grid is too high
In the situation when you connected high-power devices to the power grid, then you simply could, as they said before, "knock out traffic jams." The situation should not cause any difficulties.
Perhaps there is no need to bother anyone with calls. It is enough to go to your electrical panel and turn on the fuse again. Of course, you must first disconnect the energy-intensive device from the network. Otherwise, the protection will work again and there will be no light in the apartment.
Pay your bills and sleep well
Your light may be turned off for non-payment. As a consumer of a service, you must know the rules for its delivery. They say that if there is a debt of 2 months (it used to be 3), the consumer can be disconnected from the service.
But the supplier is obliged to comply with the relevant procedure. The non-payer must be warned by registered mail. This letter will contain a notice that, from a certain date, the supply of this utility service will be stopped for you. To correct this situation, the debtor is given 20 days (previously it was 30).
Naturally, we are not going to advise you to aggravate the situation. Bills must be paid. But, at the same time, the light will not be turned off for you without repeated notification. It is mandatory. His debtor is handed over personally against signature. This action is performed three days before the day of shutdown. Such rules. All other actions of the energy supply organization will be declared illegal, and you can easily defend your rights in court.
Don't worry everything is going according to plan
Often, electricians turn off the lights in our apartments when they carry out planned work on the lines. Of course, ideally, they should warn consumers. But we often do not pay attention to small ads hung in the entrance. Such blackouts, almost always, occur during working hours (from 8.00 to 17.00).
For more information, just call the housing office. It is even easier to call the neighbors and clarify that their electricity is turned off. It is clear that there is no point in swearing and making a fuss over such a temporary power outage. It is possible that a modern line is being installed for you and shutdowns associated with repairs will now become a rarity.