Reviewed by Lee Gundenswager (Lead Electrician, Connex Lic #92217) and Darren Standring (Owner). Last updated May 2026.
It’s 11pm, your power just went out, and you’re reaching for your phone. Before you call an emergency electrician — and potentially pay after-hours rates — there are a few things worth checking first. Sometimes the fix takes 30 seconds. Sometimes it confirms you genuinely need a sparky at your door.
Here’s our checklist for North Brisbane homeowners.
Step 1: Check If It’s Just Your House
Look outside. Are your neighbours’ lights on? Is the street lighting working?
If the whole street is dark: It’s an Energex supply issue, not your switchboard. Report it to Energex on 13 62 62 or check the Energex outage map. No electrician can help with a network outage.
If only your house is dark: The issue is inside your property. Keep reading.
Step 2: Check Your Switchboard
Open your switchboard (usually on the side of the house, in the garage, or in a hallway cupboard) and look for anything that’s moved to the OFF position.
Main Switch Is Off
If the main switch has tripped, try switching it back on. If it trips again immediately, you have a serious fault — do not keep resetting it. Call us on 0474 207 609.
Safety Switch (RCD) Has Tripped
Safety switches are the smaller switches usually on the left side of the board, marked “RCD” or with a test button. If one has tripped:
- Unplug everything on the affected circuit
- Reset the safety switch
- Plug appliances back in one at a time
- When the switch trips again, the last appliance you plugged in is the culprit
Common culprits in North Lakes and Mango Hill homes: faulty kettles, old fridges, outdoor lights with water ingress, and portable heaters.
Circuit Breaker Has Tripped
If a single circuit breaker has tripped (not the safety switch), it usually means that circuit is overloaded or has a short circuit. Common in older Chermside and Aspley homes where the air conditioner, kitchen, and multiple power points share one circuit.
Step 3: Check for Obvious Causes
- Storm damage: After a storm, check for fallen branches on your private power lines (the section from the pole to your house). Don’t touch anything — call Energex for damage to the overhead lines, call us for damage to your private infrastructure.
- Water: Any flooding near your switchboard or outdoor power points? Water and electricity don’t mix. Stay clear and call an emergency electrician.
- Burning smell: If you smell burning from your switchboard, walls, or any power point — turn off the main switch immediately and call us. This is a genuine emergency.
- Sparking: Visible sparks from outlets, switches, or the switchboard means main switch off, call now.
When You Actually Need an Emergency Electrician
Call us on 0474 207 609 immediately if:
- Main switch trips repeatedly and won’t stay on
- Burning smell from any electrical fitting, wall, or the switchboard
- Visible sparking or arcing
- Power out with no obvious cause after checking the switchboard
- Partial power loss (some rooms working, others not) — this can indicate a lost neutral, which is dangerous
- Buzzing or humming from the switchboard
- Lights are unusually bright or dim (possible neutral fault — can damage appliances)
Our emergency electricians respond across all North Brisbane suburbs — North Lakes, Redcliffe, Kallangur, Burpengary, Caboolture, Chermside, Stafford, and everywhere in between. 30-minute target response time, upfront pricing, even at 2am.
Common Power Outage Causes by Area
North Lakes, Mango Hill, Griffin
Project homes with minimum-spec switchboards. Safety switches trip because multiple high-draw appliances share circuits. Fix: switchboard upgrade with dedicated circuits.
Stafford, Wavell Heights, Chermside, Aspley
Post-war and 1960s-70s homes with original wiring. Insulation has degraded in the roof space heat, causing intermittent earth faults that trip safety switches — especially after rain. Fix: rewiring the affected circuits and switchboard upgrade.
Redcliffe Peninsula (Redcliffe, Margate, Kippa-Ring, Scarborough)
Salt air corrosion on outdoor fittings and switchboard components. Water ingress to light fittings and power points during coastal storms. Fix: replace corroded fittings with marine-grade alternatives, upgrade switchboard.
Caboolture, Morayfield, Burpengary
Mix of old and new housing stock. Older homes along the Bruce Highway corridor have ceramic fuse boards that fail under modern loads. Newer estates have builder-grade switchboards with no spare capacity. Fix: switchboard upgrade appropriate to the home’s age.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an emergency callout cost?
We provide upfront pricing before starting any work — even at 2am. Emergency callout rates are higher than standard hours, but we’ll always tell you the cost before proceeding. No surprises.
How quickly can you get to my area?
We target 30 minutes across North Brisbane. Our vans are based in the North Lakes area and cover from Chermside to Caboolture and the entire Redcliffe Peninsula.
Should I keep resetting a tripping safety switch?
Reset it once. If it trips again, stop. Repeated resetting can damage the switch and doesn’t fix the underlying fault. Unplug everything on the circuit and test appliances one at a time as described above. If the switch trips with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the wiring — call us.
My lights are really bright all of a sudden. Is that dangerous?
Yes — this can indicate a lost neutral (also called a broken neutral). This is a serious fault that can damage or destroy appliances and create a fire risk. Turn off the main switch and call us or Energex immediately.
Power out in North Brisbane? Call Connex Electrical on 0474 207 609 — 24/7 emergency response, licensed (#92217), $20M insured, 494+ five-star reviews.