Obviously, if the power is out all over the neighborhood, it’s not a problem with your house – so check your neighbors’ power status before fiddling with anything. If part of your house goes dark, it may mean that you’ve temporarily overloaded your circuits (this commonly happens when too many appliances are being used at once). It can also mean something more serious. To find out for yourself:
Look for signs that single out a defective appliance. Check to see if there are frayed electrical cords, smoke, or black smudges that indicate a certain appliance isn’t up to par. Then check the fuse box or circuit breaker.
If you have a fuse box, look in the fuse’s glass “windows”; if you see a broken strip of metal or a scorch mark, the fuse is blown and needs to be replaced.
If you have a circuit breaker,there’ll be a switch that’s tripped into the OFF position; it needs to be put back into the ON position. If the power stays on, you’re good to go.
If you didn’t find anything wrong in step one, or the power goes off immediately, turn off and unplug all the light switches and appliances in the affected area. Reset the circuit breaker or replace the fuse; if the fuse blows or the circuit breaker trips off, it could be a short-circuit in the wiring, for which you’ll need an electrician. If the power stays on, it’s time for step three.
Turn the wall switches on, one at a time. If you find a wall switch that blows the power, it may be a short circuit; call an electrician. If it isn’t the switches that are plunging you into darkness, test all your lamps and appliances one by one until you find out what’s causing the problem. If the power goes out as soon as you plug in the appliance or lamp, the cord needs replaced. If it happens when you turn the item on, it might either be the switch, or that the item may be too much for that circuit. Move it to a different circuit and see what happens.