 Georgia Power is committed to safely delivering reliable power to our customers. Vehicles can be the cause of an outage. They can knock down a pole and tear down overhead power lines. However, a vehicle can also cause an outage by breaking or simply hitting a pole. Problems occur when a pole gets stuck and causes the wires to contact each other. Problems that cause an outage on an overhead line, such as a vehicle knocking down a line, also can affect underground service customers if underground power is supplied from the same substation. An electrical flash can occur when a vehicle hits a pole. The flash is very dangerous and power must be stopped immediately. To stop power, we have installed fuses, reclosers and breakers. An outage is the normal result when one of these devices senses a problem and stops power flow. The device responding to the problem depends on where the problem occurs. Let's take a closer look at each device and how it operates. The first device is called a fuse. A fuse is a device used to control the power flow to customers in a small geographic area. In the first scene, a vehicle hits a pole, causing a flash. The fuse detects a problem and quickly shuts off power to all customers downstream of the fuse. The boom that you hear is normal and is the indication that the fuse has detected a problem and stopped power flow. The fuse shuts off power until the problem is corrected and must be reset to restore power flow. The second device is called a recloser. The recloser is designed to control power flow to customers in a larger geographic area. In this second scene, a vehicle hits a pole, causing a flash. The recloser senses the problem and stops the power to all downstream customers. The recloser shuts off power until the problem is corrected and must be reset to restore power flow. Your lights may blink a few times before staying off. The third device is called a breaker. A breaker is located in a substation and is the main control point for power flow to customers in an even larger geographic area. In the third scene, a vehicle near a substation hits a pole, causing a flash. The breaker shuts off power flow to all customers it serves. Your lights may blink a few times before staying off. After the problem is corrected, the breaker must be reset to restore power flow. Fuses, reclosers and breakers do not prevent problems from occurring. Their purpose is to isolate the cause of a problem and minimize the impact on our customers. Safety is Georgia Power's primary concern. We remind all customers to stay away from power lines. To view additional power interruption videos, return to the main menu.