Emergency Electrical: What to Do When the Power Goes Out
Total power loss, sparks at the board, burning smell from a socket — here's what to do in an electrical emergency, and when to call an emergency electrician.
Electrical emergencies are stressful. Here’s a clear, calm guide.
Full loss of power
First: check the neighbours. If their lights are out too, it’s probably a network outage. Call Vector (09 366 0440) to report and check their outage map.
If only your house is affected:
- Check your switchboard. Has a circuit breaker tripped? It’ll be in the “off” or middle position.
- Try resetting it once. If it trips again immediately, something on that circuit is causing it — don’t keep resetting.
- If the main switch has tripped, there’s a more serious fault. Don’t keep resetting. Call us.
Sparks, smoke, or burning smells
Stop. Switch off at the board. Don’t try to use the circuit that’s causing it.
If there are sparks or smoke from the board itself: switch off the main breaker (the big one at the top), leave the house if there’s any smoke, and call an electrician. Boards can catch fire.
For burning smells from a socket or switch: stop using it, switch off that circuit at the board if you can identify it, and call us.
What NOT to do
- Don’t keep resetting a breaker that keeps tripping
- Don’t put a higher-rated fuse in to “fix” a blown fuse — this masks the fault and creates a fire risk
- Don’t use an appliance that’s given you a shock, even a small one
- Don’t do any investigation yourself if you’re unsure what you’re doing
When to call us
Call 09 392 0055 for:
- Total loss of power where it’s not a network outage
- Burning smells or sparks
- Any fault you can’t identify with a quick visual check
- Anything that feels unsafe
We’ll advise you over the phone and get to you as soon as we can.
Arahia Electrical covers South Auckland — Manurewa, Papakura, Manukau, Ōtara, Māngere, and wider Auckland.