Are you currently experiencing an outage?
What causes outages?
An outage is when your lights go off and stay off for more than a few seconds. This can be caused for a variety of reasons, including storms, downed trees, or even a vehicle hitting a power line pole.
Learn more about what can cause outages, and how we work to restore power when they occur.
Weather
During a storm, falling trees or flying debris can damage lines or and poles, and in the winter, snow and ice can accumulate and weigh down lines and trees.
Never go near a downed line!
Vegetation
Trees are the most common cause of outages, and anything from a broken limb to a branch simply touching the line can cause a service interruption.
Wildlife
Animals, particularly squirrels, can damage lines and cause outages, both directly or indirectly.
Accidents
Outages can occur when anything from vehicles to construction machinery damages our lines, whether they're above or below the ground.
Call 811 before you dig!
Our restoration process
Our monitoring systems detect outages when they occur, and our restoration teams always work hard to make each outage as brief as possible.
1. Vital Community Services
Restoring power to community services such as hospitals, emergency and public safety services, and water and sewage stations is always first priority.
2. Highest Impact
Next, we focus on repairs that return power to the greatest number of customers in the least amount of time.
3. Smaller lines
Finally, we repair smaller lines until crews get down to individual lines in neighborhoods. We won’t stop until power has been restored to every customer.
Report a Street Light Outage
Light out on your street? Use our interactive map tool to let us know exaclty where the outage is located.
Please call us at 1-888-891-0938 or call 911 to have the line barricaded until it can be repaired.
- Warn others to stay away.
- Always assume a downed power line is live and life-threatening. Keep children and pets away!
- Do not attempt to remove a person or animal caught in power lines. Call 911 for help!
- Do not attempt to remove tree limbs or any other object from a downed line.
Trees
Lightening
Underground Vehicle
Animals
Vehicle
Underground Cut Cable
Snow / Ice
Crane
Unknown
Trees
Trees are the most common cause of outages, and anything from a broken limb to a branch simply touching the line can cause a service interruption. Find out how Georgia Power handles these types of outages.
Animals
Did you know that animals – particularly squirrels – can affect your power supply? Learn more about the effects of wildlife on your electricity.
Snow & Ice
Snow and Ice can easily cause outages, particularly as the accumulation builds and weighs down both lines and trees alike. Find out more about how Georgia Power handles outages during ice and snow.
Lightning
Dangerous and unpredictable, lightning can cause trees to fall or strike the line, causing an outage. Watch how lightning can affect your power supply.
Vehicles
From car crashes to a simple bump to a pole, vehicles can easily cause an outage to power supply. Learn more about how this can happen and how Georgia Power identifies and repairs these types of outages.
Cranes
Cranes are important for construction and repairs, but they can also cause outages by accidentally tearing down or touching power lines. See how Georgia Power works to restore power after this kind of outage.
Underground Vehicles
Unfortunately, underground cables are susceptible to power outages, particularly when hit by a vehicle. See how Georgia Power equipment protects your home when accidents strike.
Underground Cut Cable
Underground cables are not immune to power outages, particularly when cut through digging. Find out how to avoid this when digging on your property and how see how Georgia Power protects your home when accidents strike.
Remember: Call 811 before you dig!
Unknown
Occasionally, Georgia Power is not able to immediately determine the cause of an outage. Learn how Georgia Power restores power when the cause is unknown.