my electrical outlet has power but does not work. Could one of the outlets on the circuit be bad?

How are you testing for power? even if the polarity is reversed it will work and the average person would never know there was a problem, it’s A/C power: alternating current. On an oscilloscope it "alternates" positive to negative 60 times a second (60 hz). The ground also won’t effect the operation in almost all applications. You could just have a bad outlet. Contacts in the outlet aren’t making contact with the prongs of the plug your plugging in. If Hot, neutral, and ground are hooked up properly and it doesn’t work replace the outlet. Chances of another outlet being bad are slim if the wiring was done right, the wires should be wire nuted together in the box with a pigtail to the outlet, so if a oulet fails all other outlets still work. Buy a tester at any hardware store for about $6 it has 3 lights and 3 prongs and a code for wiring problems. You can test an outlet in about 3 seconds. (hint: twist the tester slightly when plugged in if the light codes change, your outlet is worn ...  more