No Power to Your House but the Street Has Power? 7 Things to Check

If there is no power to your house but the street has power, the fault is almost certainly on your side of the connection rather than the network's. A blackout that stops at your front fence usually points to your main switch, your switchboard, or the service line running from the pole to your home. SafeWork NSW treats any unexplained loss of supply as an electrical hazard until a licensed electrician has investigated it. This guide walks through seven checks in order, so you know what is safe to look at, what to leave well alone, and when to pick up the phone.

The purpose of this article is to discuss:

1. Confirm Your Neighbours Really Do Have Power
2. Check Your Main Switch First
3. Look for a Tripped Safety Switch or Circuit Breaker
4. Check Every Switchboard in the Property
5. Look at Your Meter — Without Touching Anything
6. Look Up at the Service Line and Point of Attachment
7. Consider Your Consumer Mains and Main Fuse
8. FAQs

No Power to Your House but the Street Has Power: Seven Checks in Order

Work through these in sequence. The first four are safe for any homeowner to do. The last three are about knowing what you are looking at so you can describe it accurately over the phone — they are not jobs to attempt yourself, because everything from your meter back to the pole is Level 2 territory under NSW law.

Step 1: Confirm Your Neighbours Really Do Have Power

It sounds obvious, but this single check decides who you should be calling. If the whole street is dark, it is a network outage and Ausgrid is already working on it. If your lights are the only ones out, the problem starts at your property.

What you can safely do: Look for lit windows, streetlights and porch lights either side of you. At night this takes ten seconds. You can also check the current outage map on the Ausgrid outages page. If no outage is listed for your street and your neighbours have supply, keep reading.

Step 2: Check Your Main Switch First

Your main switch is the large switch at your switchboard that controls power to the entire property. It can be knocked off accidentally, or it can trip in response to a serious fault somewhere in the house.

What you can safely do: Open the switchboard door — the door only, never the cover behind it — and look at the main switch. If it sits in the off or down position, flick it back on once. If power returns and stays on, something momentarily overloaded the system and it is worth mentioning to your electrician. If it trips straight back off, stop. A main switch that will not stay on means there is a live fault, and repeatedly resetting it is unsafe.

Step 3: Look for a Tripped Safety Switch or Circuit Breaker

Sometimes what feels like a total blackout is actually several circuits out at once. A tripped safety switch (RCD) will cut power to everything on its circuits in an instant, and in an older board a single RCD may cover most of the house.

What you can safely do: Scan the row of switches for any sitting out of line with the rest. Unplug appliances on the affected circuits, then reset the switch once. If it holds, plug things back in one at a time to find the culprit. If your safety switch keeps tripping, or a circuit breaker keeps tripping immediately, leave it off and call a licensed electrician.

Step 4: Check Every Switchboard in the Property

Plenty of Sydney homes have more than one board — a main switchboard plus a sub-board for a granny flat, a renovated extension, a garage or a pool. A fault at a sub-board can take out a surprising amount of the house.

What you can safely do: Walk the property and look for a second board, often in a garage, laundry, hallway cupboard or external cabinet. Check whether its main switch or breakers have tripped. Note what you find; it will save diagnostic time when your electrician arrives.

Step 5: Look at Your Meter — Without Touching Anything

Your meter is where the network's equipment ends and yours begins. Modern smart meters have a small display; older meters have a spinning disc. A blank display or a meter that has clearly stopped can indicate a supply fault, a meter fault, or a disconnection.

What you can safely do: Look, and only look. Note whether the display is blank, showing an error, or reading normally. Do not open the meter enclosure, pull anything, or touch the service fuse — that equipment is the network's and is live even when your main switch is off. If your supply has been disconnected for a billing reason, your retailer will have contacted you.

Step 6: Look Up at the Service Line and Point of Attachment

The overhead cable from the pole to your roof or wall is the service line, and the bracket where it lands on your house is the point of attachment. Storms, falling branches, corrosion and age all cause failures here — and this is one of the most common reasons a single house loses supply while the street stays lit.

What you can safely do: From ground level, look at where the cable meets your home. A cable hanging low, pulled away from the wall, frayed, or a bracket that has come loose from the fascia is a clear answer. Stay well away, keep children and pets clear, and never touch a fallen or sagging conductor — treat every cable as live. Only a Level 2 ASP can work on this connection.

Step 7: Consider Your Consumer Mains and Main Fuse

Consumer mains are the cables running from your point of attachment to your switchboard. In older Sydney homes these are frequently undersized, perished or heat-damaged, and when they fail the whole house goes dark with no tripped switch to explain it.

What you can safely do: Nothing beyond describing the symptom. If your main switch is on, nothing has tripped, your neighbours have power and the service line looks intact, failed consumer mains or a blown main fuse are the likely culprits. Both are Level 2 work, and both are often the moment a switchboard upgrade becomes worth doing at the same time.

When to Call an Emergency Electrician

Call straight away, at any hour, if any of the following apply:

• A damaged or sagging service line – a cable that has come away from the point of attachment is live and dangerous. Keep everyone clear and call immediately.
• A main switch that will not stay on – this indicates a live fault somewhere in the installation. Do not keep resetting it.
• Any burning smell, scorching or buzzing at the switchboard – stop, move away, and read our guide on smoke from an electrical panel.
• No power with a medical or refrigeration need – tell us when you call and we will prioritise the job.
• Storm damage of any kind – wind and water damage to the connection is Level 2 work, and our emergency electricians respond 24/7.

FAQs

Why is there no power to my house but the street has power?

When there is no power to your house but the street has power, the fault lies between the network's pole and your switchboard — the part of the connection you own. The usual causes are a tripped main switch, a failed service line or point of attachment, damaged consumer mains, or a blown main fuse. Checking your main switch and looking up at the cable from ground level will usually point you in the right direction.

Who is responsible for the power line from the pole to my house?

In the Ausgrid network area, the network owns the supply up to your point of attachment, and you own everything from there — the point of attachment bracket, the consumer mains and your switchboard. Work on that section must be done by a licensed Level 2 ASP electrician, which is why a normal electrician cannot always help with a total loss of supply.

Should I call Ausgrid or an electrician?

Call the network if your neighbours are also out or you can see a fault on the street side of the pole. Call a Level 2 electrician if only your property is affected. If you are unsure, call us — we will ask a few questions and tell you honestly which one you need.

Is it safe to keep resetting my main switch?

No. Resetting once is reasonable. If the main switch trips again immediately, there is a live fault in the installation and repeated resets expose you to shock and fire risk. Leave it off and call a licensed electrician.

Can a storm cause my house to lose power when the street has not?

Yes, and it is common in Sydney. Wind can pull a service line away from its bracket, and water ingress can cause faults in the meter box or consumer mains. Damage is not always obvious from the ground, so if you lost power during or after a storm, have the connection inspected.

How quickly can you restore power to my home?

For urgent faults our licensed electricians arrive across Sydney in 30–90 minutes, 24/7, with no after-hours surcharge. Many supply faults are repaired on the same visit; where a network disconnection or reconnection is required, our Level 2 ASP accreditation lets us carry out that work directly rather than waiting on a third party.

Restoring Your Power Safely with Sydney Electrical Service

A blackout that stops at your boundary is a fault worth diagnosing properly rather than guessing at. At Sydney Electrical Service our Ausgrid-authorised Level 2 electricians handle service lines, points of attachment, consumer mains and metering, with upfront pricing and a 12-month workmanship guarantee — or send your online enquiry and we'll call you back.

Contact Us Today on 0433 462 902 When There's No Power to Your House but the Street Has Power