All electrical wiring or fixture after the meter in a premise is under purview of the customer. Therefore, should any fault occur to the electrical system within the customer’s premise, he/she should contact his/her electrical contractor to investigate and have the necessary repairs carried out. SESB staff will only provide advise.

However, if the power failure occurs before the meter,i.e. the customer finds that there is nothing wrong with his/her internal electrical installation,the customer can contact the nearest SESB office.

When making a complaint,the customer should:-

• Speak clearly and be specific
• Provide the relevant information such as his/her name,address and the house location
• Details of the power failure

Should a power failure occur, what needs to be done?

The procedure stated below should be followed:-

• Check whether the power failure has affected one section or the entire premise
• Check to see if other houses too in your area are experiencing an interruption of supply
• If you find that only your premise is experiencing the interruption of supply,there’s a possibility that your Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) or Automatic Circuit Breaker (ACB) has tripped.

Check if your ELCB/ACB tripped.

• If it has not tripped, please contact the nearest SESB office
• If the ELCB/ACB has tripped, please take the following action step by step:
  • Switch off all switches in your premise
  • Set the ELCB to “ON” position
  • Turn on each switch one by one until the ELCB trips again
  • When the ELCB trips, the last switch turned on would be the one causing the fault in that circuitry or wiring
  • Switch off that particular switch and reset the ELCB to the “ON” position
  • Send the specific electrical equipment or apparatus connected to the switch that caused the ELCB/ACB to trips for testing. Also, contact your electrical contractor to check and repair the wiring or ‘circuitry’ involved
  • A customer on single-phase electricity supply system who experiences power failure in any section of his premise should contact his electrical contractor in order to check the wiring involved. For a customer who has taken three- phases supply and faces a similar problem, he is advised to contact the nearest SESB office.

What causes power failure?

The main causes of power failure are:

1. Damage to an underground cable due to earth movement, digging works by contractors, overloading on cables, and ageing of cables
2. Damage or overhead lines due to branches making contact with the lines, damaged electrical poles,overloading on the lines, old lines or contact by animals
3. Blown fuses on electrical poles or cables boxes in HT substations can be due to (I) and (II) above
4. ELCB ( Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker ) tripping in customer’s premise which may be due to faulty wiring or faulty electrical equipment.
5. Other causes such as malfunctioning of electrical appliances