How long does it take for power to come back on after lightning?

We recognise it is frustrating to read the message “Restoration time: unknown”. An unknown restoration time message can arise when there is extensive damage to the network, generally caused by a major incident such as a storm, and our crews are attending to many faults.

In such cases, our crews must firstly make each site safe before work can commence.

When there are many faults in a suburb, repair work on one fault may return power to some customers, but not others. Therefore it is not possible to give an estimated restoration time for a suburb that is meaningful for all affected customers... Read more

If my power at home goes out during a storm, it's usually for a short period of time (almost always under 15 seconds). This seems like it can't be due to a downed power line, since that would take longer to fix. Maybe this is a long shot, but if there is a really short outage like this, is there a common cause for that?

Heavy rain, lightning, strong winds and other types of severe weather cause power outages and interruptions by knocking down power lines, blowing objects into overhead lines, flooding power-related equipment, or damaging insulation, among others.

As we become more and more dependent on technology and electricity, the idea of the power going out becomes even more worrying. It’s one thing when the lights flicker for a few seconds in the middle of a storm, but spending hours or days in the dark has the potential to inspire panic and hysteria. In 1977, the power went out in New York City for about 25 hours, resulting in more than 1,000 fires being set and over 1,500 stores being looted.

Some places around the world are more prone to severe weather events than others, but everyone has likely experienced a power outage due to severe weather at some point. The question is, with 21st century technology and the various dangers of power blackouts, why are powerful storms still able to turn the lights out?

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Power Line Systems

For those who don’t know how electricity reaches their homes, a short introduction to the electrical transmission and distribution system will help the rest of this article make more sense. Power is produced in generating stations, which are usually located at a distance from urban centers and use wind, coal, water and natural gas to create the necessary electricity. That electric current is pushed into a transformer, which increases its voltage so it can travel long distances through transmission lines that criss-cross the country.

After the electric current completes this long journey, it passes through a substation where the voltage lowers. It can then be distributed onto smaller, local power lines that we regularly see lining suburban streets. It moves through these distribution lines into transformers, which further drops the voltage so it’s safe to enter your home. Finally, the electric current moves through your service panel and is distributed to the wires and wall sockets you need for all your gadgets and chargers!

This is a classic example of an aboveground power line system, which is what most people think of in terms of power outages—downed power lines sparking in the street! However, there is another underground option, which moves electric current in much the same way (in terms of starting and ending points), but some of that journey happens in wires that are buried underground, rather than hanging from poles. There are advantages and disadvantages to both these systems, which will become more clear after we discuss the effects of severe weather on our electrical transmission and distribution system.

Severe Weather Effects on Power Systems

When a storm is rolling, it’s always wise to check your candle supply, in case the power is about to go out. However, given the enormous task of moving electric current hundreds or thousands of miles to power millions of homes, it seems strange that something as simple as a rainstorm could cause the system to break down. However, power lines are also designed to protect the power grid and the surrounding area, which may make them seem faultier than they really are.

Severe storms can cause trees to sway which in turn would snap high-voltage power lines (Photo Credit : Scott Alan Ritchie/Shutterstock)

For example, most storms bring strong winds along with them, which causes trees to sway and branches to snap. When a tree branch comes in contact with the high-voltage power lines, the power is automatically cut, and then restarted when the contact ends. This is to prevent the electric current from being discharged and wasted. If a branch snaps and falls onto a power line, the power will remain off until the problem can be resolved. In some cases, the wind can be so bad that it will blow power lines down, or an entire tree will fall across the lines, pulling them down. This is why municipal crews spend a lot of time cutting trees back when they begin to encroach on nearby power lines.

Aside from the wind, precipitation is also potentially disastrous for power lines. Heavy and continuous rains can damage the insulation elements (e.g., bushings and switches) and cause a blown fuse and power loss. Physical damage from branches and hail, or gradual wearing down over time, can cause cracks and breaks that let water seep in and do damage. Snow and ice storms are even more hazardous, as these heavier forms of precipitation can stick to and weigh down power lines, sometimes snapping the cables entirely.

Lightning is also drawn to elevated, metallic things, so power lines are commonly struck by lightning, which can cause a power surge that overloads local transformers and causes major power issues. Trees struck by lightning often collapse onto nearby power lines, causing power outages, even if the trees have been adequately cut back by local workers.

All of these severe weather dangers for traditional aboveground power lines make it seem like the underground option is far safer and more effective. However, there is more to the story than that. Flooding and heavy rains can cause problems in underground power lines too, such as when insulating systems get damaged and water leaks in. Additionally, one of the advantages of aboveground wires is that the problem area is easy to identify and access. If you power grid is underground, it becomes more difficult to find the problem, and more disruptive to the surrounding community to access and fix.

Heavy rains can disrupt power lines (Photo Credit : Horsepowermini/Shutterstock)

Even with the hassle of repair, many people in hurricane-prone areas would love to have their power lines buried, but the biggest objection from cities and localities is the cost. It is far more expensive to both install, access and repair underground power lines than it is to erect traditional electric poles. Although there are some advantages, the billions of dollars it would cost to implement, in addition to the elevated electric bills for users, make it less popular than you might expect.

A Final Word

The creation, distribution and maintenance of an electric grid that hundreds of thousands of square miles is a daunting and admirable task. However, patience is required when bad weather rolls in, because the electric transmission and distribution system of any country is susceptible to damage, regardless of whether the wires are above the ground or below. While these systems are constantly being improved upon, power outages will probably always be a part of life—and the lifeblood of the candle industry!

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Suggested Reading

References

1. Semantic Scholar
2. Taylor & Francis
3. OurEnergyPolicy

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When a major storm hits, widespread power outages are a given. Back in 2017, Hurricane Irma scored a direct path through our city. Afterward, we got a close look at how power gets restored after a storm. As it turns out, we have some very smart professionals who manage, operate, and repair our local electrical grid. The time it took to get people back up varied from just a few hours to several weeks in some areas. Everyone wants to know when they’ll get power back, but the key is understanding how the system prioritizes repairs. This article fills in the gaps, telling you how the electric company restores power after a storm.

The government actually uses a very intentional process for getting power back up and running.

Step 1: Assessment

Start any project without good planning, and you’ll run into issues. Start a major power restoration project without a plan, and you’ll wind up with a very inefficient and even more costly process.

The first people you’ll see from the utility company will be assessing damage and reporting back to the planning team. This allows on-site crews to have an idea of what’s down and how to best prioritize repairs. When Hurricane Irma hit us in 2017, we saw many such crews driving out and assessing the damage in various areas to establish a “plan of attack”.

Step 2: Power Stations and Facilities

Restoration starts by making repairs to power plants and substations first. If the source of your power isn’t up, it’s awfully tough to know what isn’t working. Once those repairs are complete, facilities like water and wastewater plants become the next priority with transmission line repairs. As the municipality makes these repairs, they systematically protect “downstream” power substations. This keeps them from accidentally getting unexpected power and causing additional damage.

Step 3: Critical Installations

The next priority includes critical areas like hospitals, life support centers, fire stations, and police stations. These facilities typically sit close to major lines by design. This is, of course, where the crew would start anyway. The goal, however, is to get water and wastewater services to these facilities so they can perform critical functions. Critical installations such as hospitals see main line repairs off of the transmission lines first.

Contrary to popular belief, wealthy areas do not get back up the quickest. It’s all about moving from the major power arteries to minor capillaries. Much of this works in a similar way to how blood flows in our bodies. The closer you are to transmission lines, the more quickly you’re likely to see power restoration.

There are, however, exceptions to this rule. At this point, the power companies prioritize restoring power to the greatest number of people possible—as quickly as possible. In the case of restoring power after Hurricane Irma, my block didn’t get power back as quickly as the surrounding ones. The reason was that there were repairs to make that got more people back online than my little pocket. While frustrating for those of us without power, the work they accomplished quickly impressed everyone paying attention. 48 hours after the storm, we saw electricity restored to 65% of residents. By 72 hours that number climbed to nearly 85%.

Only at this point do the small pocket and isolated areas get the repairs they need. In some cases, these include repairs to a single home connection, reducing the number of customers getting back online to very small figures. One member of our team found his home at the very tail end of a run. His power took nearly two weeks to get repaired—making him one of the last people to regain service in Lakeland.

There is a method to the seeming madness of how power is restored after a storm. While tons of conspiracy theories abound about “the wealthy” getting power back first, this simply isn’t true. The reality—which we’ve seen first hand—shows that power companies and municipalities typically have a plan in place. This governs how they restore the grid to get the most customers back up the quickest after critical installations.

There’s one thing to remember—and this has been an issue of misinformation after Hurricane Irma. Linemen are out there to restore power, not talk to you about estimates on repair times! Every minute they’re not working on the line is another minute of delay in getting power back up for some other family. They’re not trying to be rude, they’re trying to do their jobs…often working 16-hour days to get you back up.

Our recommendation? Shove a Starbucks gift card in their hand, say thanks, and walk away!