In the fine newsgroup "alt.home.repair", Larry Caldwell
artfully composed this message within
nk.net on 03
Jun 2004:

What you describe is caused by a bad neutral circuit. It is
probably the power company's fault, though if your aluminum
lead-in wire was not installed properly the fault may be yours.
It is a VERY dangerous condition. The neutral is bonded to the
ground in your breaker box, so every ground circuit in your
house may be carrying a lethal voltage.

If you are not able to troubleshoot this yourself, CALL AN
ELECTRICIAN IMMEDIATELY! I would also be smoking the power
company's lines about the stupid pencil pusher who couldn't tell
there was a dangerous condition at your location. They should
have had a crew on your doorstep within 2 hours.

Ok, you're scaring me so point received! I've checked the circuit
breaker box and don't smell anything, it isn't hot, not even warm.
The problem is that I can only tell this is happening when it is
dark, because other than the refrigerator, I don't notice anything
with other appliances. Mostly just the lights. I won't let this go,
and I'll call the power company. I've never had any circuit
breakers pop at all, but an air purifier has blown internal fuses
(1 amp IIRC) at times, but that was before I moved the humidifier
(which I only run in the summer). The air conditioner wasn't even
on last night.

--
Cheryl