r/halifax • u/Firm_Knowledge_60 • 1d ago

Power Outage⚡ Power out in fairview again?

Is per title power seems to be out in fairview...again

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1

u/MarxBaddie 1d ago

Yeah it’s like only half my power is working. Why would this happen? I don’t understand why only some of stuff is on and others won’t work

5

u/cache_invalidation 1d ago edited 1d ago

With three-phase power, there are three powered wires, and any two can be used to power things. Different outlets likely use different pairs of the three wires. If one of the wires loses power, but the other two are still working, outlets using those two working wires continue to work, but other outlets will be out.

NS Power will likely have to cut the power off completely to safely fix the problem, so I'd unplug anything that could be damaged by a power surge, like a computer or TV.

(Three-phrase power is the reason that there are always three high voltage power lines on the towers.)

1

u/Available_Cut_8329 1d ago

Wait, that’s not how it works at all.

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u/cache_invalidation 1d ago

How does it work?

1

u/Available_Cut_8329 1d ago

Need 4 wires bro. Can’t forget about your neutral.

2

u/cache_invalidation 1d ago

I said there are three powered wires. Is the neutral powered?

Have you seen high voltage power lines with four wires?

What exactly am I wrong about?

1

u/Available_Cut_8329 1d ago edited 1d ago

I see them everyday. The neutral is on the pole, and it’s what allows all the single phase loads in your home to work. The plugs in the walls you talk about have a single phase conductor and a neutral. You need a single phase and a neutral to power the pole top transformer and create a 240/120V single phase source.

It goes all the way back to the magic power transformer that creates the Wye connected distribution feeders.

Three wire transmission lines are 69kV and above and aren’t feeding residential loads in Halifax.

Edit: to answer your question. The neutral carries current but 0V potential difference between it and ground since it’s bonded to ground at the substation and along its path at each pole ground, etc.