Why a Brownout in Maine Could Be More Dangerous Than a Blackout

Some Maine residents experienced a brownout on Monday night, and should be checking their electronics and appliances this morning.

How Many Customers Were Affected?

Versant Power customers in Brewer, Holden, and Orrington lost power for a couple of hours Monday night. Tina Morrill, with Versant Power, told us that approximately 8,200 customers were affected, with some experiencing a full outage, while others had 'partial power,' which is also known as a brownout. It kind of freaked me out because our incandescent light bulbs were dimmed to a weird brownish-orange color. I didn't understand why some of our lamps were lit while others were dark.

Morrill says that Monday's outage/brownout began at a substation in Brewer. She said some equipment at a Brewer substation needed repairs and, once those were completed, power was restored.

What's the Difference Between a Blackout and a Brownout?

We're all familiar with a blackout, or conventional power outage, which disrupts the supply of electricity to customers completely, so everything is dark. No lamps, no television, no power at all at customers' homes until it's restored by the utility company. But a brownout is different, as it's basically a drop in voltage, which causes your electronics to run at a diminished capacity. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, this can be very taxing on your electrical appliances, including things like your washing machine, dryer, fans, refrigerators, and freezers. In addition, the surge of electricity when power is restored can damage electronics, including your computers and phones, if they're plugged into a charger.

How Can We Protect Our Electronics During a Brownout?

The best advice, in the event of a brownout, is to shut down the main breaker to your house and wait for the electric utility company, in this case Versant Power, to notify you that the power has been restored. This is where my husband and I were thankful for our generator to run a few basic electronics until the power was back on. The best defense is a standby generator that will trigger automatically during outages, cutting your electrical supply to the house until the power problem is fixed.

Thanks to the Versant crews for getting the lights back to full power so quickly.