It is evening, a few rooms have gone dark, and the reset did not work. The question everyone asks next is whether this needs someone tonight or can wait for a scheduled visit. Most partial outages can wait safely. A few cannot. Here is how to tell which you have, and how to get through the night if it can wait.
Call right away if any of these are true
- Smoke, sparks or flames. Get everyone out and call 911.
- A burning or hot plastic smell near an outlet, switch, fixture or the panel.
- Heat. An outlet, switch plate, cord or the panel cover that is warm to the touch.
- Sound. Buzzing, crackling or sizzling from the panel, the meter or a wall box.
- Lights getting brighter in some rooms and dimmer in others. This can be a lost neutral. See the lost-neutral warning.
- Water in the panel, a fixture or a box, for example after a roof leak or flood.
- Half the house out and large appliances not running. That points to the service or main breaker. See half the house losing power.
- Something critical is without power, such as medical equipment, or a refrigerator with medication that must stay cold, with no other way to run it.
For a power line down outside, stay well away and call FPL and 911. If the whole neighborhood is out, it is FPL's to fix. FPL's power outage guide lists 1-800-4OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243).
Usually fine to wait for a scheduled visit
If none of the signs above are present, these are generally safe to leave until a scheduled visit, with the affected breaker switched off:
- A few outlets or one room dead, with the breaker on and no smell, heat or marks. See breaker not tripped but no power.
- A GFCI that will not reset, with nothing burned or wet.
- One light or switch not working.
- Outdoor outlets that tripped in the rain and will not reset until dry.
- A breaker that trips when one appliance runs. Leave that appliance off until it is looked at.
How to make it safe for the night
- Switch off the breaker for the dead circuit if you can identify it. That keeps a failed connection from coming back on and arcing while you sleep.
- Unplug everything from the dead outlets.
- Do not run extension cords under rugs or through doors to reach working outlets, and do not plug heaters or air conditioners into them.
- Move the refrigerator or freezer to a working outlet with a heavy-duty cord if it is on the dead circuit, or keep the doors closed.
- Write down what is dead and what was running when it happened.
How to book the visit so it goes fast
When you call, tell us which rooms, outlets and lights are out, what you have already reset, and anything you noticed: a smell, heat, flicker or sound. Photos of the panel with the door open and of the label inside the door help us bring the right parts. Our before you call checklist lists what to have ready, and what happens on a repair visit explains how the visit itself works.
Our same-day repair hours are Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM. Calls that come in early in the day have the best chance of a same-day slot when scheduling permits. If you call outside those hours and what you describe sounds dangerous, we will tell you plainly. Our emergency electrician page explains what counts as an emergency.
If you rent, or live in a condo
FPL's guide says that if you live in an apartment building or complex and only your unit is out, call the building's maintenance contact first. The same applies in condos: the problem may be in the building's equipment rather than in your unit. If the building is fine and the fault is inside your unit, an electrician is the next call. Our guide to condo electrical repairs in Miami Beach explains how the responsibility usually splits.
Food, medicine and air conditioning
The practical worries in a Miami outage are usually the refrigerator and the air conditioning. A refrigerator on a dead circuit can usually be moved to a working outlet with a properly rated heavy-duty cord for the night. Do not run a window unit or portable air conditioner on an extension cord. If the central air has stopped while the lights still work, that is the half-the-house pattern above and should be called in rather than left.
When waiting is not worth it
Even when it is safe to wait, a dead circuit is not something to live with for weeks. The usual cause is a connection that overheated before it failed, and the conditions that failed one connection are often affecting others on the same circuit. The repair is usually quick once the fault is found. See partial power outages and why one bad connection kills several outlets.
Questions people ask
Is it dangerous to leave a tripped breaker off overnight?
No. A breaker in the OFF position is safe. It is the failed connection behind it you do not want to energize again until it is found.
Can I sleep with part of the house out?
Yes, if there is no smell, heat, sound or flicker and the affected breaker is off. Most partial outages are exactly that: inconvenient but not dangerous.
Should I keep trying to reset it?
No. One reset is a test. Repeated resets push power into whatever caused the trip. See why a breaker trips again.
To book, call (305) 359-7312 or use the quote form on this page.
Reviewed by Kyle White, KRW Electric Company LLC — licensed electrical contractor EC13012832.
