Short answer
When half the house goes dead, the usual cause is a lost leg: one of the two hot conductors feeding your home is out, often on the utility side or at the service drop, meter or main connections. Check with neighbors and call the utility or REMC. If lights are getting brighter and dimmer or electronics are failing, that points to a lost neutral: turn off sensitive electronics and call an electrician right away.
What's probably happening
A typical home gets power on three wires from the utility: two hot legs and a neutral. Each hot leg feeds about half the breakers in your panel. Big appliances like an electric dryer, range, water heater, well pump or air conditioner use both legs at once. If one leg drops out, you get exactly this: half the house works, half doesn't, and the big appliances either stop or run weakly.
A problem on the utility side
A lot of the time, the fault is before your meter: a blown fuse on the transformer, a damaged connection on the line, or a problem at the splice where the service drop meets your house. Storms, ice, and wind are common triggers in Northeast Indiana. Whether you're on an investor-owned utility in town or an REMC out in the county, that part of the system is theirs to fix.
A failing connection at the meter base or service entrance
If the utility confirms their side is fine, the next suspects are on your side: a burnt or loose connection in the meter base, damaged service entrance cable, or a loose lug on the main breaker. These connections carry all of the power for the house, and when they fail they get hot. This is electrician work, and some of it requires the utility to disconnect power first.
A main breaker or panel problem
Less often, the main breaker itself or the connection where a breaker meets the bus inside the panel fails. Older panels in older homes are more prone to this, and Huntington has a lot of older homes: the U.S. Census American Community Survey (2020–2024) puts the median home in the city at 1954, with 39% built before 1940.
A loose or lost neutral
This is the urgent version. When the neutral connection fails, voltage across the house becomes unbalanced. You'll see some lights getting brighter while others dim, bulbs burning out, electronics rebooting or dying, and motors humming. The voltage on some circuits can go well above normal, which damages equipment and can overheat things. Don't wait on this one.
What you can safely check yourself
- Check whether neighbors have full power. If they're having trouble too, it's almost certainly a utility problem.
- Look at your panel without opening the cover. If one breaker is tripped, reset it once, fully off then on. A lost leg usually shows no tripped breakers at all.
- From a safe distance, look at the line running to your house, the mast and weatherhead on the roof or wall, and the meter. Note anything sagging, pulled away, burnt or damaged. Don't touch any of it.
- Turn off 240-volt appliances: dryer, range, water heater, AC, well pump if you know its breaker.
- If any lights are getting brighter and dimmer, unplug TVs, computers and other electronics now.
- Call the utility or REMC and report a partial outage. Tell them half the house is out.
Don't pull the meter, open the meter base, or remove the panel cover. The service conductors are live and have no breaker protecting them.
When to stop and call
- Lights are surging bright and dim, or electronics and appliances are failing. Call right away.
- You smell burning, hear buzzing or crackling at the meter or panel, or see scorch marks. If there's smoke, get out and call 911.
- The utility says their side is fine, and half the house is still out.
- The service line, mast or meter base is visibly damaged. See storm damage to the service line.
Sky High Electric is owned by Brandon Foster and listed as open 24 hours on our Google profile. If half your house is out in Huntington County, call (260) 519-1188 and tell us what's working, what isn't, and what the utility said.
Common questions
Why does half my house have power and half doesn't?
Homes are fed by two hot legs. If one is lost, anywhere from the utility's transformer to your panel, the circuits on that leg go dead while the rest keep working. Big 240-volt appliances like the dryer, range and AC often stop or run weakly.
Should I call the utility or an electrician first?
If your neighbors are having trouble too, or you see damage to the line coming to the house, call the utility or REMC first. If the problem is only at your house, call both: the utility can check their side, and we can check the meter base, the service entrance and the panel.
My lights are getting brighter and dimmer. Is that the same thing?
It's related and more dangerous. That usually means a loose or lost neutral, which can push too much voltage to some circuits. Turn off and unplug sensitive electronics and call right away.
Can I keep using the half that works?
If it's a clean loss of one leg and nothing is flickering, lights and small plug-in items are usually OK for a short time. Leave 240-volt appliances off. If lights are surging or anything smells hot, turn off the main breaker if you can reach it safely and call.