How to check your breaker box during an outage

CoServ’s system operators and linemen stand ready to respond to outages 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

But sometimes, the source of a partial or full power outage is on the customer’s side of the meter. Here are some simple steps you can follow to determine if there’s a problem with your circuit breakers and restore power yourself.

• Start at the breaker box, usually located in your garage. First, make sure there’s no heat coming from the fuse box. If there is, contact an electrician before proceeding.
• If the breaker box feels normal, check the switches to make sure they are all in the on position. If any of the breakers are tripped, they could be out of position and will look different than the rest of them.
• To reset a breaker switch, you need to:
  1. Find the breaker switch that is in the middle position or has a red or orange indicator.
  2. Move the switch all the way to its ‘off’ position, then back to ‘on’.
  3. You should hear a click when the breaker is reset.
• Check to see if the lights came back on.
• If not, check the outside breaker box, which is usually located near the electric meter or the air conditioner unit. Follow the same steps as above. Important safety note: Do not touch outside breakers if it is raining or wet.
• If your house has GFCI outlets, check them to make sure none of them have tripped. If they are tripped, the light could be orange instead of green. If they are tripped, hit the reset button.
• If the power is still out or anything looks out of place, report the outage through SmartHub or by calling 940-321-7800.