Who fixes the power when it goes out depends on where the fault sits. Evergy repairs the grid up to your meter, and a licensed electrician fixes everything on your side of it. Five quick checks tell you which one to call, and our Emergency Electrical Services team covers the inside-the-house half.
By Veteran Electric Team, KC Licensed Electricians
Who Fixes the Power When It Goes Out: Evergy or an Electrician?
Evergy, the electric utility for most of the Kansas City metro, owns and repairs the grid: substations, poles, transformers, and the service drop (the wires from the utility pole to your house). Its crews fix outages caused by damage to that equipment, including storms that bring down lines, and work to get customers without power back online. Their repairs stop at your meter. Licensed electricians handle everything on your property: the service mast, meter socket, main panel, breakers, wiring, and outlets.
So who fixes the power when it goes out? The location of the fault decides it. A storm that drops a line on your street is Evergy's job. A main breaker that trips and will not reset is yours. The same split answers who fixes a power outage that hits only one house: the grid side belongs to Evergy, and the repair on your side of the meter belongs to a licensed electrician.
Veteran Electric KC is veteran-owned and operated, and the sections below walk you through the checks in order.
How Can You Tell If It's an Evergy Outage or a Fault Inside Your House?
Start with what you can see from your driveway. If streetlights are dark, traffic signals are out, or several houses on your block have no lights, the cause is almost certainly on Evergy's side. If your house is the only dark one, the fault is probably on your property or on the single line that feeds it.
Check Evergy's outage map for your address as well, though scattered one-house outages may not appear on it. Use this table to match what you see to the likely cause.
| What you see | Likely cause | Who to call |
|---|---|---|
| Whole street or neighborhood dark | Evergy outage | Evergy |
| Only your house dark, neighbors lit | Main breaker, meter socket, mast, or service line | Check the panel, then an electrician |
| Half the house dead, half working | Problem with one of the two incoming power legs, or a bad connection inside | Electrician |
| One room or a few outlets dead | Tripped breaker or GFCI (an outlet that guards against shocks) | Reset check, then an electrician |
| Wires down, sparks, or burning odors outside | Hazard on the utility or service side | 911, then Evergy |
Losing only half the house is a pattern of its own, and half-house power loss with normal-looking breakers can come from either side of the meter, so it deserves a professional look.
What Does It Mean When There's No Power but Neighbors Have Power?
When there is no power but neighbors have power, the problem is usually limited to your home or to the single line serving it, not the wider grid. That can mean Evergy's equipment, such as the service drop or transformer, or it can mean something inside your house. Somewhere between the pole and your outlets, something is not working.
The usual suspects, from simplest to most serious:
- A tripped main breaker in your electrical panel.
- A loose or failed connection at the meter socket (the box the meter plugs into).
- A storm-damaged service mast or weatherhead (the pipe and curved cap that carry the wires into your house).
- A damaged service drop, which is the Evergy-owned wire from the pole.
- A transformer problem that affects only your house or a few nearby.
That last item is why a lit neighbor does not always clear Evergy. Homes are fed from different transformers and lines, so the house next door can stay powered while yours is cut off. Report your outage to Evergy even if you suspect a private fault. Severe weather in Kansas City, from summer thunderstorms to winter ice, strains lines and masts, so one-house power outages are common after it.
What Can You Check at the Breaker Panel in Five Minutes Before Calling Anyone?
You can rule out the simple causes without tools. Keep your hands dry, use a flashlight, and open only the small door that covers the breaker switches. Never remove the metal cover behind it.
- Find the main breaker. It is the largest switch, usually at the top. If it sits in the middle position or off, it has tripped.
- Scan the branch breakers. A tripped one rests halfway between on and off. Note which look different, but do not flip anything yet.
- Check the GFCI outlets. Look in the kitchen, bathrooms, garage, and outside, and press each reset button.
- Use your nose and ears. Burning odors, buzzing, sparks, a warm panel door, scorch marks, or a tingle from a switch or outlet mean stop. These signal an electrical emergency and possible electrical fires, so do not touch the breakers, and call for emergency help.
- Confirm the outage. Check Evergy's outage map and look at your neighbors' houses one more time.
If the main breaker is tripped and nothing smells or sounds wrong, one reset attempt is reasonable (the safety notes are in the questions below). If everything looks normal and the house is still dark, the fault is past what a homeowner can see. Licensed electricians have the meters and expertise to test panels and wiring safely.
Who Is Responsible for the Meter, Service Drop, and Wires Going to Your House?
Ownership follows the wire from the pole to your panel. The exact boundary comes from Evergy's service rules, so confirm it before you touch anything near the meter. In general:
- Evergy usually owns: the poles, transformers, the service drop, and the meter itself.
- You usually own: the meter socket, the conduit and mast, the weatherhead, the main panel, and all wiring beyond it.
That split matters after storms. A storm-damaged service mast or weatherhead usually belongs to the homeowner, so a licensed electrician makes that repair, though it often requires Evergy to disconnect and restore the service drop around it. Never break the meter seal or pull the meter yourself, because that is a safety hazard and may violate the utility's rules.
If the service drop is down or hanging low, that is Evergy's wire. Treat every downed line as live, stay well back, and call 911 and Evergy.
When Should You Call a Kansas City Electrician Instead of Evergy?
Call an electrician when the evidence points to your side of the meter. Those signs include:
- The main breaker trips again right after you reset it.
- Only part of the house is dead and the breakers look fine.
- You smell burning, hear buzzing, or see scorch marks at the panel or outlets.
- Evergy shows no outage for your address, yet the house stays dark.
Knowing who fixes the power when it goes out saves you a long wait on the wrong phone line. If Evergy cannot help because your service is live, a licensed electrician is the next call. For homeowners, that work falls under our Residential Electrical Services, and we offer 24/7 emergency service when an electrical emergency cannot wait for morning.
Whoever you hire, ask for upfront pricing before any repairs begin. Until the electrician arrives, stay away from anything sparking or hot, and write down what you saw to speed up the diagnosis.
Electrical fires, sparks, or a downed wire always come first: call 911, then the right party.
Common Questions About Power Outages
Who do I call when the power goes out in Kansas City?
Call Evergy first if the whole street or neighborhood is dark, because widespread power outages on the grid, especially after storms, are theirs to repair. Call a licensed electrician if only your home is out, the main breaker will not stay on, or a panel, meter, or mast shows damage. Call 911 for an electrical emergency such as fires, sparks, or downed lines.
How do I report a power outage to Evergy?
Report it through Evergy's online outage reporting or by phone, using the outage number listed on Evergy's website. Have your service address or account number ready, and say whether wires are down, you smelled burning, or only your house is dark. Report a single-home outage too, because Evergy can only fix outages it knows about.
Is it safe to reset a tripped main breaker myself?
Often yes, once. With dry hands, stand to the side of the electrical panel, push the main breaker fully to off, then firmly back to on. If it trips again, stays warm, buzzes, throws sparks, or you smell burning or see scorch marks, stop, because those can point to a risk of electrical fires or shocks. A main breaker that will not hold points to a real fault, and a licensed electrician should look at it.
Get a Veteran-Owned Electrician to Check Your Panel
If your power is out and Evergy says your service is live, Veteran Electric KC is a call away at (816) 317-0061, any hour, whether it is an electrical emergency, storm repairs, or a routine electrical repair. Use the Contact page to tell us what you found at the panel, and we will work out the next step with you.
