Voltage low as 74v after blackout. What's wrong?

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274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1995961 14-Apr-2018 11:22

@Jase2985 lodged fault many times since Wednesday night using the app, never able to reach a real person on the phone even wait more than 45min. Never responsed by any mean from Vector. Feeling very helpless.

Jase2985

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#1995969 14-Apr-2018 11:26

just keep on the line, you will get through and someone will get out to sort it out. they have said it could be till monday or tuesday before its all back to normal

Shin

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1995970 14-Apr-2018 11:26

@Dynamike 111 for police, fire or medical emergency. its not apperent to by a look. poles are standing still lines are not hanging loose. I dont know what to say to the receptionist unless its Vector person who may know what the low voltage mean.

Jase2985

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#1995978 14-Apr-2018 11:31

tell them exactly that you have low voltage, you have measured it as xyz

Dynamike

167 posts

Master Geek

#1995988 14-Apr-2018 11:55

I live in a rural area, and get the exact same fault several times every year. It’s caused by a branch or object touching a high voltage line feeding the transformer. That causes a fuse at the transformer to blow.

The fluctuating power is caused by induction from the lines that are still live at the transformer. It’s not a safety hazard to people.

Shin

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1995990 14-Apr-2018 12:02

@Dynamike thank you sharing your experience. What is frustrating is that Im getting mixed message that I believe all very truthful however the Vector is unreachable to clarify.

RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#1996001 14-Apr-2018 12:20

Vector are releasing updates every few hours as to progress on repair work - details here

Contact details here phone and email.

It seems there are still many thousands of connections without power - they say they are receiving fault reports via the app, so yours has likely got through. Given the sheer number of issues, it's unlikely that they will be using resources to make individual contact with everyone who has reported a fault and more likely they are trying to get everything reconnected ASAP.

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Bung

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#1996003 14-Apr-2018 12:22

Have you looked at the Vector outage map? It shows where outages have been identified and which ones are currently being worked on. Other than that it's like waiting for a lift, pushing the button repeatedly doesn't make it arrive any sooner.

SATTV

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#1996014 14-Apr-2018 12:49

Vector have made it clear that their priority is to get the masses back on and then mop up smaller individual cases and sorting out hot water etc.

The latest vector outage map shows individual cases that they know about.

I realise this is hugely frustrating to you but there are also thousands of others in the same boat, there are only so many people in the vector call center and so many crews out fixing lines. I am sure Vector have bought in all the extra resources they can to get everyone back on as soon as they can.

I feel very sorry for the crews that have been out for the past 5 days, there has been some real awful weather and they have been up and down poles in high winds and heavy rain to get people back on.

While Vector may not have got back to you, they might have noted the fault if you have reported the fault with the app.

DO NOT call 111, it is not an emergency, it is an inconvenience.

Are you able to borrow a generator from someone to get some light and normality back?

PS run the generator outside or in a very well ventilated area.

John

I know enough to be dangerous

Rikkitic

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#1996018 14-Apr-2018 13:10

Isn't the question whether this actually is dangerous or not, and the difficulty of getting information? Of course people have to be patient in a situation like this and I don't doubt Vector is going above and beyond to restore services in difficult conditions, but if something is potentially life-threatening, there should surely be a way of reporting it and getting an immediate response?

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

kryptonjohn

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#1996031 14-Apr-2018 13:17

michaelmurfy:

@Shin In my case it was - loss of neutral from the street. Somebody from the lines company came by and fixed it up and said how lucky I was to have turned it off.

The shocks were no joke but lucky for me I knew what it was pretty quickly that was causing it and I was not fully grounded (had shoes on both times). I never want to go through that again and looking at that article I am incredibly lucky. I've had some close calls with electricity but the rule of thumb is, if your electricity supply is dodgy then just don't risk it - turn it off at the main breaker where your meter is. Don't test this theory either - it hurt like hell... The shocks I got were off the fridge and off the kitchen tap in quick succession. Furthermore, I've even gone as far as to turn off things during powercuts except things protected by a UPS as it is amazing how dirty power is when it gets first switched on after a blackout. I've had electronics fried in the past.

We're not saying it is specifically the case with you but you're best to err on the side of caution here especially dealing with something with the potential to kill.

We had exactly the same thing as this and the OP. Wire broken off at the pole, and shock risk not completely mitigated by the house's earth connection. The lines company came out and fixed it pronto.

Shin

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1996032 14-Apr-2018 13:17

@SATTV thanks for the advice. i think the app not showing current outage correctly, my fault report never showed up as well. what i want from vector is just clarification that whether are there any danger in the area. I am getting mixed message from this forum as well as local electrician. i can wait patiently with a low voltage or no power at all as long as things get settled. all i want is a clarification of my situation. i have dig vector website however i cant find any information of low voltage issue. only able to found an article from north power that say it could be grid overloading.

SATTV

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#1996033 14-Apr-2018 13:22

Rikkitic:

Isn't the question whether this actually is dangerous or not.

Yes it is.

Rikkitic:

But if something is potentially life-threatening, there should surely be a way of reporting it and getting an immediate response?

There is but the OP has chosen not to stay on the phone to speak to someone, this I do not concider "life threatening" as the threat has been removed by turning off the mains.

If the wind had blown a tree over and wires ( always treat as live ) were on a vehicle with someone in it is what I would call life threatning.

If I recall the Vector call center is 24/7 - have you tried calling at midnight or 6am?

John

I know enough to be dangerous

Jase2985

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#1996107 14-Apr-2018 15:44

Shin: @Jase2985 lodged fault many times since Wednesday night using the app, never able to reach a real person on the phone even wait more than 45min. Never responsed by any mean from Vector. Feeling very helpless.

any fault on the map will show the general area of the fault. niot the exact location

approximately where are you? name of the street and a number range is fine.

RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#1996115 14-Apr-2018 15:55

OP said Dairy Flat - looks like there is a lot out in that area, both from the app and the web map.

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