Black outs, Outages or Power Cuts are the most obvious power quality problem, you simply don't have power!

Nothing that is normally connected the utility grid will now function unless it has a backup power supply.

Blackouts can be caused by a number of factors, including:

• Weather
• Lightning Strikes on Power Lines
• Heavy winds bringing down power lines
• Ice bringing down power lines
• Power Distribution Faults
• Circuit Breaker Tripping
• Street Works
• Planned Maintenance
• Unplanned Maintenance

Blackouts are officially referred to as Interruptions and can be either short term (less than 1 minute) or long term (greater than 1 minute)