Only partial power after power outage? Anyone ever experienced this?

[dseag2]

I posted in another thread that we had a horrible storm yesterday in Dallas and lost power. It was fully restored this morning at 3am. Everything was working and were thrilled. However, I was watching TV at around 3:30 this afternoon and it just shut off. We also received warning messages on both A/C thermostats and neither is working except for the fans. Our alarm system indicates "trouble" it isn't beeping as it did when we lost power. Both of our microwaves will turn on but neither is heating. Our refrigerator is still fully functional, as is our washing machine, but our dryer won't turn on. All our lights and outlets are working.

I've never had only "partial" use of electricity so we're thinking our electric provider is doing "brownouts", which provide lower voltage but not a complete loss of electricity. There was a brief moment this evening where the lights got brighter and we felt cool air. The TV also came on for a brief period. I've never been through something like this before. I called our electric provider to report an outage and received a recorded message indicating they expect power to be restored at our address by 3:30am. I can only guess this means they are stilling showing we are not receiving power.

Has anyone else ever experienced this or do you know what might be causing it?

Thanks for any input.

 

[Don M.]

Do you have a Voltmeter? If your power company is having trouble maintaining 120/240 volts, virtually all of your appliances are at risk of being damaged. Appliances need "wattage" to operate properly, and if the voltage drops, they will try to draw more "amps". This can cause many of the components to overheat/burnout and cause expensive repairs. Stick the voltmeter leads into any of the house electrical outlets, and if the voltage is less than 110 volts AC it would be advisable to turn off/unplug the units until the voltage goes back up to over 110v.

 

[dseag2]

Do you have a Voltmeter? If your power company is having trouble maintaining 120/240 volts, virtually all of your appliances are at risk of being damaged. Appliances need "wattage" to operate properly, and if the voltage drops, they will try to draw more "amps". This can cause many of the components to overheat/burnout and cause expensive repairs. Stick the voltmeter leads into any of the house electrical outlets, and if the voltage is less than 110 volts AC it would be advisable to turn off/unplug the units until the voltage goes back up to over 110v.

Great advice. Thanks!

 

[Harry Le Hermit]

Are your neighbors having the same issues?

 

[Blessed]

I am in DFW area but I did not lose power. I think it may be a brown out but I have never experienced one so I can't confirm.