How Does That Work?

What causes ‘circuit trips’?

Most customers understand why their power might go out when a strong storm system with high winds moves through the area, or when an ice storm leaves power lines tree limbs weighted down, causing the limbs to interfere with the lines.

But why would your power go out on a bright, sunny day? Why would a “circuit trip” leave you without power?

A number of other things can cause your neighborhood to lose power, including animals interfering with equipment, tree limbs tangling with power lines, vehicles hitting power poles, and equipment trouble.

Excessive heat, tree roots, ground settling, and contractors accidentally digging into underground equipment can also cause circuit trips.

The grid

OPPD’s electrical system is made up of circuits. These circuits serve large numbers of customers in the metro area, as many as 1,500 and 2,000 customers per circuit. Circuits in rural areas can contain as few as couple hundred customers per circuit.

All of OPPD’s circuits have breakers, a large-scale version of the main circuit breakers found in your home. They perform the same job and provide the same protection. Circuit breakers act as safeguards to help prevent damage.

When an object or animal comes in contact with OPPD equipment on a circuit, the circuit breaker will shut itself down in order to protect the circuit and the rest of OPPD’s system.

If the threat to the circuit clears itself quickly, the circuit breaker turns itself back on and power flows as usual. This quick opening and closing of the circuit causes what is known as a “trip”, “blip” or “momentary.”

Report your outage

OPPD monitors its system 24 hours a day and records all circuit trips. Reporting “momentary” circuit trips to customer service is not necessary. But when a longer outages happens, OPPD always recommends that customers report the problem. You can report an outage in a variety of ways:

• Call 1-800-554-OPPD (6773) – Be sure to report your outage using this hotline if you see more severe issues such as snapped poles, power lines on the ground, etc. And if you see power lines on the ground, assume they are live and dangerous and do not go near them.
• Use the OPPDconnect App (available for download on your smart phone or tablet).
• Submit a report on the Report an Outage page

OPPD is investing in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology. AMI will help pinpoint outages more quickly and more precisely, without customers having to report them. 

During an outage, make sure you turn off all of the lights in your house and unplug any appliances or electronic equipment such as stereos, TVs, gaming systems, etc. Although these devices won’t be running, it is beneficial to lessen the electrical load once the power is restored. This will also reduce the possibility of damage to your appliances and equipment from any power surges.

OPPD knows that circuit trips can be a major inconvenience. However, circuit trips  are a necessary safeguard. Just as your home wouldn’t pass inspection without the installation and proper labeling of your main breaker, a power company could not operate without this equipment.