A power outage in your home can stem from a utility-side failure affecting your whole neighborhood, or from an electrical problem inside your house — a tripped breaker, a blown fuse, a damaged service entrance, or a more serious wiring fault. The fastest way to narrow it down is to check whether your neighbors have power. If they do, the problem is almost certainly on your side of the meter, and you should call a licensed electrician to diagnose it safely.

Utility Outage vs. In-Home Electrical Problem

Utility-side outages are caused by equipment failures, downed lines, severe weather, or grid overload. Denver and the Front Range see their share of high-wind events, heavy spring snowstorms, and summer lightning — all common culprits for utility outages. If the outage is utility-side, your electric provider (Xcel Energy for most of the metro area) will restore power. You can report the outage through their app or website and check estimated restoration times.

If your neighbors have power and yours is out, the issue is on your side. This could be as simple as a tripped main breaker or as serious as a failed utility transformer feeding only your home, a damaged weatherhead or service entrance cable, or an internal wiring fault.

Common In-Home Causes

Before calling an electrician, there are a few safe checks a homeowner can make:

  • Main breaker tripped: Open your electrical panel and look for the large breaker at the top (usually a double-pole 100A, 150A, or 200A breaker). If it’s in the middle position or facing the wrong way, flip it fully off then firmly back to on.
  • Individual breakers tripped: A circuit overload or short trips individual breakers. Reset any that appear to be in the middle position.
  • GFCI outlet tripped: A tripped GFCI outlet can kill power to an entire circuit — often bathrooms, kitchens, and outdoor outlets. Find any GFCI outlet (the ones with Test/Reset buttons) and press Reset.
  • Blown fuse (older homes): Some older Denver-area homes still have fuse boxes. A blackened or broken fuse means a circuit has been overloaded — replace with the correct amperage fuse only.

When to Stop and Call an Electrician

If breakers keep tripping after you reset them, if you smell burning or see scorch marks near outlets or the panel, or if the panel feels warm to the touch, stop and call a licensed electrician immediately. Repeatedly resetting a tripping breaker without finding the root cause can mask a dangerous wiring fault or overloaded circuit. These situations can escalate to electrical fires if left unaddressed.

Also call an electrician — not the utility — if the outage appears to involve your service entrance (the point where utility lines connect to your home). Damage to the weatherhead, meter base, or service entrance conductors requires a licensed electrician to repair before the utility will restore power. This is not a DIY repair.

Preparing for Future Outages

Colorado’s weather-driven outages — ice storms, high-wind events, and summer hailstorms — make backup power worth considering. A whole-home standby generator or a battery backup system kicks on automatically when the grid goes down, keeping your heating, refrigeration, medical equipment, and sump pump running. Done’s electricians can assess your home’s load requirements and recommend the right solution.

An outdated electrical panel can also be a contributing factor — older panels (particularly Federal Pacific or Zinsco brands, still found in some 1970s–1990s Denver homes) are known to have reliability issues and may need replacement. A panel inspection and upgrade is often the long-term fix for a home that experiences frequent breaker trips or partial outages.

If your power is out and you can’t find a simple cause, Done’s licensed electricians are available for emergency electrical service. We can also help you evaluate backup power options so you’re never left in the dark again. Contact us to schedule a visit.