Why can the supply be interrupted?

On this page, we explain why power outages can occur, how we respond when they happen, and what you should keep in mind while we work to restore service.

We work continuously to improve and maintain the grid. Even so, on some occasions, the supply may be interrupted due to causes beyond our control.

 

A fault may occur in your installation (home, office, or homeowners’ association) or in the distribution network itself.

 

These are the most common causes:

Causes and examples of faults

CAUSE
EXAMPLES
Accidents
Cable breakage due to excavators or lorries hitting overhead lines when lifting trailers.
Weather conditions
Storms, floods, heavy snowfall or strong wind events.
Fires
Fire can damage the grid or require it to be disconnected for safety.
Fauna and vegetation
Birds or tree branches that come into contact with lines and trigger automatic protection systems.
Component failure
Failure of a transformer, insulators or other network components.
External faults
Incidents in the transmission network or in generation plants, external to the distribution network.

How do we act when there is a fault?

As soon as we detect an incident, we activate a protocol involving different teams. Our aim is always to restore the service as quickly as possible, ensuring the safety of our technicians.

  • Coordination from control centres: Our control centres coordinate all operations on the grid. When necessary, they give instructions to maintenance crews to travel to the location of the incident, assess it and repair it.
  • Priority in major faults: If the fault affects a large number of users, we prioritise restoring service at particularly sensitive points: hospitals, emergency services, police or water supply facilities.
  • Severe weather emergency situations: When the cause is an extreme weather event, we work in collaboration with other emergency services. In these cases, we reinforce response crews with additional standby teams.

 

How we resolve the incident

Once you notify us, we locate the fault and look for the quickest way to resolve it. There are two possible approaches:

  • Automatically: we use the grid management systems of our control centres. This is the fastest option and does not require travel.
  • With field technicians: when it is not possible to resolve it automatically, we send our maintenance technicians to assess and repair the fault.

The repair time depends on the type of fault. In any case, we do everything possible to minimise its duration and the number of users affected.

Important: supply may be restored at any time without prior notice, even if we have given you a time estimate. Therefore, do not carry out repairs on your installation while there is no electricity: the power may be restored unexpectedly.

 

What if the problem is in your electrical panel?
Many times, the cause of the outage is not in the grid, but in your own electrical panel. That is why it is useful to know it and understand how to check it. It may also have tripped because you have exceeded your contracted capacity.