Available 24/7

24/7 Emergency Electrician for Urgent Electrical Problems

Call any hour and describe what you see, hear or smell. We'll get a licensed electrician who takes emergency calls out to make it safe.

Electrician with a headlamp checking a breaker panel in a dark house

Start with a call

Tell us what's going on and where the job is. We'll get a licensed electrician out, and you'll know the price before the job begins.

(844) 498-0091 Check your ZIP

Is this an electrical emergency?

It’s an emergency when there’s heat, smoke, sparking, a shock or water on live parts. Those are signs of a fault that’s active and can get worse fast. Call Hire Local Electrician any hour with what you’re seeing and the address, and we’ll get a licensed emergency electrician out to make it safe. A single dead outlet or a light that quit usually isn’t an emergency and can wait for a booked visit. Two common emergencies have their own guides: an outlet that is hot or sparking and half the house losing power.

The hard part is telling them apart in the moment. A warm outlet cover and a scorched one look alike in dim light, and a breaker tripping from a heavy load acts the same at the panel as one tripping from a short. What separates an inconvenience from an emergency is usually heat, arcing or current going somewhere it shouldn’t.

What’s happening	What to do right now	How urgent
Burning smell, no visible source	Shut off that circuit, or the main if you can’t tell which	Call now
Sparks or a scorched outlet	Stop using it and switch off its breaker	Call now
A shock from an appliance or faucet	Don’t touch it again; switch off its circuit	Call now
Water on outlets or the panel	Stay off wet floors; shut off power only if you can reach it dry	Call now
Lights brightening and dimming across the house	Unplug computers and TVs	Call today
Breaker trips again the instant you reset it	Leave it off	Call today, or now if there’s heat or smell
One dead outlet or fixture	Nothing; it can wait	Book a visit

For the in-between cases, our guide on whether it’s an electrical emergency or can wait goes into more detail.

Electrician in a navy uniform standing beside a white work van on a residential street

What should you do before the electrician arrives?

If you can do it safely, switch off the breaker feeding the problem. That one step takes the immediate danger away in most situations, and it may mean the repair can wait for a daytime visit.

Take any burning smell seriously. Insulation inside a wall can smolder for a long time before anything shows, and by the time you see it the situation is a lot worse. If you think something is actually on fire, get out first.

Apartment building and parking lot lit up at night

What happens after you call?

You tell us the address, what’s going on and when it started. We get a licensed emergency electrician out to you. The first work on site is isolating the hazard, and only then does the diagnosis start: often a burned connection, a failed breaker or a damaged cable, which turns into electrical repair once it’s found. A fault that won’t show itself becomes electrical troubleshooting, and a breaker that won’t hold is circuit breaker repair.

You’ll know the repair price before that work starts, and you only pay for work you agreed to.

Signs it's time to call

A burning or fishy plastic smell near outlets, switches or the panel
Sparks, scorch marks or smoke from anything electrical
Buzzing, crackling or sizzling from the panel or a wall
A shock, even a mild one, from an appliance, switch or faucet
An outlet, switch plate or cord that's hot to the touch
Water on outlets, the panel or wiring after a leak or flood
Total power loss while the neighbors still have power

Common problems

What causes electrical emergencies?

Burning smell with no visible source

A fishy or sharp burning-plastic smell usually means insulation is overheating inside a wall, the panel or a fixture. The source often isn't where the smell is strongest. Shut off the circuit and call instead of hunting for it.

A breaker that trips the moment you reset it

A breaker that snaps off again right away is catching a fault it won't tolerate. Forcing it on removes the only protection on that circuit. The short or ground fault behind it needs finding.

Sparking or scorched outlets

A small spark when you unplug something can be normal. Sparks that keep going, arc, or leave black marks are not. Scorching means arcing has already made enough heat to damage the device.

Half the house dark

Losing power to part of the house while the utility supply is fine often points to a failed main lug, a loose neutral or a lost service leg. A lost neutral can push damaging voltage into electronics and needs fast attention.

A shock from an appliance or fixture

Any shock means current is traveling where it shouldn't, usually through a grounding fault. How hard it bit tells you little about how bad the fault is.

How the work usually goes

Step 01
Tell us what's happening
Call and describe what you're seeing, smelling or hearing, and when it started. That tells us whether this needs someone tonight or a first-thing appointment.
Step 02
We get an electrician on it
We get a licensed electrician who takes emergency calls in your area on the way, and tell you what happens next.
Step 03
Make it safe while you wait
Shut off the breaker feeding the problem if you can reach it without touching anything wet or hot, and keep people and pets away from it.
Step 04
The hazard gets isolated
First job on site is making it safe. Your electrician de-energizes the faulty circuit and checks nothing else is at risk.
Step 05
Diagnosis and repair
Once it's safe, the fault gets found. You'll have a quote before the repair starts, and you'll know if any of it needs a permit.

Read this first

How do you stay safe until help arrives?

If you see smoke or flames, get everyone out and call 911 first. Electrical fires can burn inside a wall where you can't see them.
Never put water on an electrical fire. If you can reach the main breaker safely, shut it off.
Don't stand in water to reach a panel or outlet. If the floor is wet, stay out and wait.
Don't keep resetting a breaker that keeps tripping. It's protecting the circuit from a real fault.
Unplug what you safely can on the affected circuit to take the load off.

What affects the cost

Does an emergency call cost more?

Every job is priced on what the electrician finds on site, and you only pay for work you agreed to.

Time of day, since nights, weekends and holidays usually cost more
How quickly you need someone on site
Whether the fault is obvious or takes testing to find
Whether parts are needed outside normal supply-house hours
Whether the repair stays contained or uncovers a bigger wiring problem
Local permit rules if the repair involves the service or panel

Straight answers

Emergency Electrician questions

Can an electrician come out at night or on a weekend?

Yes. This line takes emergency calls at any hour, including nights, weekends and holidays. Tell us what's happening and the address, and we'll get a licensed electrician who handles emergency calls out to you.

Should I call the utility or an electrician?

If the problem is outside, like a downed line or damage to the wires running to your house, that's the utility's side; stay well clear of it. From the meter into the house is electrician work, and that's what to call us about. Not sure which side it's on? Call and describe it.

Can I shut off the breaker and wait until morning?

Often, yes. Switching off the circuit removes the hazard and lets you book a normal daytime visit. What you shouldn't do is leave a burning smell, scorch marks or a shock hazard live overnight because it seems to have stopped.

An outlet got wet. What should I do?

Don't touch it or anything plugged into it. If you can reach the breaker without standing in water, switch that circuit off. If you can't, stay out of the room and call. Outlets and panels that have been under water usually need replacing, not drying out.

Is a shock from a faucet or appliance an emergency?

Yes. Any shock means current is going somewhere it shouldn't, often through a broken ground or a damaged appliance. Stop using whatever shocked you, switch off its circuit if you can, and call. A mild tingle can come from the same fault as a dangerous one.

Available 24/7

Emergency electricians by state

Each guide covers what tends to go wrong in that state and who licenses electricians there. The number is the same everywhere, any hour.

City guides

24/7 emergency electricians by city

Related services

All services

Popular areas

All locations

Before you dial

Heat, sparks or a shock right now?

Your ZIP code, what the power is doing, and whether anything smells hot, sparks or buzzes.