What Causes Power Outages?

Power outages can be caused by many things:

It's especially important to stay calm in the event of a power outage. Frequently, power outages are caused by other hazards, such as extreme weather or emergency situations.

  • Storms. Wind, heat, ice, and snow are the most common causes of widespread power outages
  • Trees. During high winds, or trimming by an untrained professional, limbs can come into contact with power lines, causing power interruptions. Visit Tree Trimming to learn more about safety issues and why planting trees near power lines is a bad idea
  • Vehicles. A vehicle accident with a utility pole can cause a power outage. Check out Power Line Safety for tips on handling these very dangerous situations.
  • Earthquakes. Quakes of all sizes can damage electrical facilities and power lines
  • Animals. Squirrels, birds, and other small animals may cause power lines to short circuit
  • Lightning. When lightning strikes transmission towers, wires, and poles, outages occur.
  • Excavation Digging. Sometimes underground cables are disturbed by digging. Check out Call Before You Dig and stay safe while gardening or placing fenceposts.
  • High Power Demand. During heat waves and other times of unusually high power demand, overburdened electric cables, transformers, and other electrical equipment can melt and fail.
Tree & Power Line Safety

Follow these tips to help keep yourself and your friends safe:

  • Never climb in or play in trees that are growing next to power lines
  • Never touch a power line with your hand or with any other object, whether you are in a tree or on the ground
  • Don’t build a tree house, fort, or anything else in a tree that is next to power lines
  • Tell an adult if you see trees growing close to high-voltage power lines or contacting these lines. (High-voltage lines are the ones at the very top of power poles.)
  • If you see a power line that has fallen into a tree or onto the ground, stay away and tell an adult immediately. Even if they are not sparking or humming, fallen lines can kill you if you touch them or the ground nearby.
  • Tell an adult if you see someone trimming a tree next to a high-voltage power line. Certified professional tree trimmers are the only ones allowed to do this
  • Plant only trees that will not grow tall or wide enough to contact nearby power lines.
  • Before planting a tree, call your local utility locator service to make sure you won’t dig into underground power lines.
Trees and Power Lines

IF YOU SEE A DOWNED WIRE, CALL 911 RIGHT AWAY

If a person or piece of equipment comes in contact with an energized power line, or if a power line has fallen to the ground:

  • Do not approach or touch the line or anything in contact with the line.
  • Call 911. Inform the operator that it’s an electrical emergency.
  • ALWAYS assume that all wires are energized.

Look Up, Look Out, and Live

Remember to look up and look out for power lines when working outdoors. Contacting power lines can seriously hurt or even kill you.

Look up first and stay away from power lines when you are using aluminum ladders, tree trimming equipment, pool skimmers, poles for harvesting fruit, or other tools that extend above your head. Metal conducts electricity. You will receive a dangerous electric shock if you are holding a metal pole or ladder that comes into contact with power lines.

Never trim trees that have high-voltage power lines going through them, or touch any tree limb that may fall into a power line. For the health and beauty of your tree, and for your family's safety, we strongly recommend contacting a qualified line-clearance arborist to trim and maintain your trees -- especially trees near power lines.

To report trees growing into power lines, go to our online Request Tree Trimming form or call 800-655-4555

Palm and wood trees should only be trimmed, removed or climbed by qualified line-clearance arborists if power lines are located in proximity of the tree. Take care when trimming tall palm trees located near and above power lines to prevent falling or sailing palm fronds from contacting the wires.

You should always be careful when working in or around fruit or orchard trees. Always look around for power lines before starting any harvesting or fruit-picking activities. Contact UCE to have your tree inspected if you are in doubt. Use only qualified line-clearance arborists if power lines are present near your fruit or orchard trees.

Power Outages

Undercurrents Energy is committed to providing our customers with reliable, high-quality power. However, storms, earthquakes, vehicle accidents, and other events can cause occasional power outages.

It's important to know what to do in the event of a power outage. Visit the Power Outage Center to learn more about rotating outages in your area.

Contact UCE

If your electricity stays off for longer than a few minutes, Undercurrents Energy wants to know. Call UCE to report a power outage at 800-611-1911.

Please have the following information ready:

  • Your UCE account number
  • The address of the power outage, whether the outage is at a residence or a business
  • The extent of the outage to the best of your knowledge--for instance, does it include your neighbors or nearby blocks?
  • The phone number where you can be reached.
  • The time that the outage began, to the best of your knowledge.

If the outage is widespread, our lines may be busy. Please be patient -- your call is important to us, and the information you give us may be our only report from your neighborhood.

If you see downed power lines, do not approach or touch the lines or anything in contact with the lines. Call 911 immediately.

Hey KIDS!

Visit Electrical Safety and Natural Gas Safety Kids' World to learn all about electrical and natural gas safety!

We also offer various Educational materials to help emphasize the importance of electric and gas safety.