What to check first after a storm knocks the power out, which repairs need a licensed electrician, and how to get your property safely back online.
When a storm rolls through Harford County and the lights go out, the first instinct is to start flipping breakers. Sometimes that is all it takes. But if a breaker will not reset, or it trips again straight away, that is the system telling you something is wrong further down the line — and resetting it repeatedly is not the answer.
Start with the obvious safety checks. Stay well away from any downed line and assume it is live. Look at where the service cable enters the building: if the mast is bent, the cable has been pulled loose, or the meter box is damaged, that is utility and electrician territory, not a DIY job. Water is the other thing to take seriously. If a panel, outlet or piece of equipment has been wet, it needs inspecting before it is energised again.
Once it is safe, the useful work begins. We check the incoming service and grounding, test breakers and GFCIs that took a surge, and look over any circuit that was running when the power dropped. Storm damage often shows up later as a warm outlet or a breaker that nuisance-trips for weeks, so it is worth finding now rather than in January.
If your property lost power for more than a few hours, it is also a good moment to think about a standby generator. We can tell you what it would take to keep your heating, well pump and refrigeration running through the next one.
