Why do power outages occur?

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A power outage or blackout occurs when there is a loss of electrical power supply to electricity customers. There can be several reasons why the blackout occurred on the power grid. These can include power plant faults, damage to transmission lines, substations or other links in the distribution system, short circuits or fuse failures. Solve power cut issues with a Generator Rental from a site like Newburn, suppliers of Generator Rental.

Experiencing a power outage at an important site could put public safety at risk, such as hospitals, factories, sewage treatment plants and water works. The site will usually have backup power sources such as generators that should activate when the main power network is disconnected. Other industries with alternative power supplies include telecommunications and emergency services.

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There are three main categories of power failure that vary in effect and length of outage:

Permanent Fault

This involves a great loss of power that is usually the result of an error on the line. Once these defects are handled, the power will automatically be restored.

Brownout

This is a drop in power supply voltage. It is called a brownout as opposed to a blackout because of dimming that occurs when a voltage dip occurs. These dips can affect the correct operation of the equipment and leads to poor performance being experienced.

 

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Blackout

This is a complete loss of power to a specific region and is the most serious form of power cut. A trip on the power plant is the most difficult form of outage to resolve quickly. Outages can last for a short time or even weeks depending on the problem that caused the blackout and how the network is configured.

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