Lancaster County · Pennsylvania
Electrician in Lancaster, PA |Find Local Electrical Help
Pennsylvania Electricians is an independent contractor-referral service that helps Lancaster homeowners, landlords, and property managers find an electrician for repairs, breaker problems, panel upgrades, and rewiring. Call, and you're connected with a participating independent electrician serving Lancaster city and Lancaster County when one is available.
Get Connected With an Electrician
Serving Lancaster and Lancaster County
If there's smoke, sparking, or a burning smell, leave the house and call 911 first.
2 Have your ZIP code ready and call
Call for Electrical Help(717) 409-6059- Free referral, no obligation to hire
- Routed to a participating independent electrician near you
- Availability varies by ZIP code and time of day
- Pennsylvania has no statewide electrician license; cities set their own
- Home improvement contractors doing $5,000+ a year register with the PA Attorney General
- Half the homes in York, Lancaster, and Reading were built before 1940 (Census)
- Burning smell, smoke, or sparks: get out and call 911
What people call about
Common electrical problems in Lancaster homes
Lancaster city's homes are among the oldest in Pennsylvania: the median home was built in 1938, and 54 percent were built before 1940 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024). These are the electrical problems that age tends to produce. Only an on-site diagnosis can say what's behind one in a particular house.
Original and patched-together wiring
A century-old Lancaster rowhome or twin may have knob-and-tube in one part, 1950s cloth cable in another, and modern cable where a kitchen was redone. Mixed wiring is harder to trace and easy to overload.
Too few circuits for a modern kitchen
Kitchens wired for a refrigerator and a toaster now run microwaves, dishwashers, and countertop appliances. Repeated trips usually mean the kitchen needs more circuits, not a bigger breaker.
Fuse boxes and small services
Some older city houses still run on fuses or 60- to 100-amp service, which limits central air, electric cooking, and EV chargers. See panel upgrades.
Rentals and converted units
Houses divided into apartments over the years can have panels, meters, and circuits that were added piecemeal. Landlords should know which panel feeds which unit.
Two-prong outlets and no GFCI protection
Ungrounded outlets throughout, and bathrooms and kitchens without GFCI protection, are common in pre-1940 houses.
Flicker and dimming
Lights that dim across several rooms, or when the furnace or air conditioner starts, can point to loose connections at the panel or service.
Services
Electrical services in Lancaster
Participating electricians take different kinds of work, so confirm the specific job when you're connected. Each page below explains the warning signs, likely causes, and what affects the price.
Electrical Repair
Dead circuits, flickering lights, buzzing, and problems you can't pin down. How electricians track down the cause, what repairs usually involve, and what they cost.
Details →Emergency Electrician
Burning smells, sparking, a hot panel, or a partial outage. Who to call first, what an urgent electrician visit involves, what it costs, and what can safely wait until morning.
Details →Electrical Panel Upgrades
Replacing a fuse box, an undersized 60- or 100-amp panel, or a panel brand inspectors flag. The warning signs, what the job involves, the permit and utility steps, and what it typically costs.
Details →Circuit Breaker Repair
Breakers that trip over and over, won't reset, or feel warm. What's usually behind it, why a bigger breaker is never the fix, and what repair or replacement costs.
Details →House Rewiring
Knob-and-tube, cloth-insulated, aluminum, and damaged wiring in older Pennsylvania homes. How to tell what you have, when partial or full rewiring makes sense, and what it costs.
Details →Outlet and Switch Repair
Dead, loose, warm, or two-prong outlets, switches that buzz or fail, and GFCI protection where it's needed. What causes each, what's safe to check yourself, and what repairs cost.
Details →When to call an electrician in Lancaster
Some electrical problems are a one-time nuisance and some are a warning. A single tripped breaker after running a space heater and a hair dryer together is usually just an overload. The same breaker tripping every day, an outlet that's warm to the touch, or lights that dim across several rooms point to something that needs a professional diagnosis. Don't open the panel or take covers off to look for yourself.
- A breaker trips or a fuse blows again after you've unplugged things and reset it once
- An outlet, switch, or cover plate is warm, discolored, buzzing, or smells hot
- Lights flicker or dim in more than one room
- You've found knob-and-tube, cloth-insulated, or aluminum wiring
- You're planning a kitchen, bathroom, or attic project in an older house
- You're changing anything on the exterior of a house in the historic district, such as a meter or service mast
If there's smoke, flame, sparking, or a burning smell, leave the house and call 911. For a downed line or a damaged meter, stay away and call PPL Electric Utilities at 1-800-342-5775. Our guide to when to call an emergency electrician covers the in-between cases.
Local considerations for Lancaster homes
The oldest housing stock of any city we cover. Census figures put Lancaster city's median year built at 1938, with 54 percent of homes built before 1940 and 71 percent before 1960 (Census Reporter). That's older than York (1941) and the same as Reading. In practice it means plaster walls, brick party walls, and wiring that's been extended for decades. The townships around the city have far newer housing, so a quote for a Lancaster city rowhome and one for a 1990s house in a nearby township aren't comparable.
Permits go through the city's Bureau of Building Code Administration. The bureau, at 120 N. Duke St., handles residential and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) permits, and its MEP permit application asks for the electrical contractor's information (City of Lancaster). Outside the city, each township and borough in Lancaster County runs its own Uniform Construction Code program, so the right permit office depends on the address.
The historic district can affect exterior electrical work. In Lancaster's local historic district, all exterior alterations visible from a street or public alley are reviewed by the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB), which covers roughly 900 properties (City of Lancaster). A service upgrade that moves the meter or adds a mast or conduit on a street-facing wall is exterior work. Ask the city whether your address is in the district before you schedule it.
PPL is the utility. Lancaster city is served by PPL Electric Utilities, which disconnects and reconnects service for panel and service upgrades. Your electrician normally coordinates that. Report outages and downed lines to PPL at 1-800-342-5775.
Electrical panels and wiring in Lancaster houses
You don't need to open anything to spot the signs that a Lancaster house is due for a professional look. What you can see from outside the panel and at the outlets tells you a lot:
- A fuse box, or fuses feeding a later breaker panel
- A main breaker marked 60 or 100 amps in a house that now has central air or electric appliances
- Several small panels added over time, common in houses converted to apartments
- Cloth-covered wire or porcelain knobs in the basement or attic; see when to rewire an older home
- Two-prong outlets, and kitchens or bathrooms without GFCI outlets
- Rust or water marks on the panel from a damp basement
How the referral works
How contractor matching works in Lancaster
You call the number on this site
Have the property's Lancaster address or ZIP code ready, plus a short description: what isn't working, whether a breaker keeps tripping, and anything you've seen, heard, or smelled.
Your call is routed to a participating electrician
Your call is connected with a participating independent electrician or electrical contractor who serves your area, if one is available. We do not send anyone ourselves.
You deal with that electrician directly
The electrician diagnoses the problem, quotes the job, and does any work you agree to under their own business name, license where one is required, and insurance. You decide whether to hire them; there is no obligation.
Good to know: availability depends on which participating electricians cover your ZIP code, and not every electrician takes every kind of job. Pennsylvania has no statewide electrician license, so ask whether your municipality requires one, for their PA Home Improvement Contractor (PAHIC) registration number, proof of insurance, and a written price. Our hiring checklist covers what to ask.
Questions
Electrical questions from Lancaster
How much does an electrician cost in Lancaster, PA?
There's no Lancaster-specific price survey. Angi's 2026 national data puts the average electrician job at $351, with most between $163 and $538, plus a typical $100 to $200 service call. Electricians in the Lancaster metro earned a mean $34.93 an hour in May 2025 (BLS), compared with $34.37 nationally, so expect prices at or a little above national ranges. HomeAdvisor puts a 200-amp panel at $1,300 to $2,000.
Who issues electrical permits in Lancaster city?
The City of Lancaster's Bureau of Building Code Administration at 120 N. Duke St., (717) 291-4724. Its mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permit application asks for the electrical contractor's information. Outside the city, your township or borough issues permits.
Do I need historic district approval for electrical work in Lancaster?
Interior work, no. But in the local historic district, exterior alterations visible from a street or public alley go to the Historical Architectural Review Board. If a service upgrade moves a meter or adds a mast or conduit on a visible wall, check with the city first.
Who is the electric utility in Lancaster?
PPL Electric Utilities serves Lancaster city. Report outages and downed lines to PPL at 1-800-342-5775. Parts of Lancaster County are served by Met-Ed, so check your bill if you're outside the city.
Does Pennsylvania require electricians to be licensed?
Not statewide; licensing is local. Ask the city's permit office what applies, and ask any contractor for their PAHIC home improvement registration number and proof of insurance.
Can I get an electrician in Lancaster today?
Call and ask. Availability depends on which participating electricians cover your ZIP code and when you call, so we can't promise a time. If there's smoke, sparking, or a burning smell, leave the house and call 911 first.
Nearby
Nearby service areas
Find an Electrician in Lancaster
Call and we'll try to connect you with a participating independent electrician who serves Lancaster and Lancaster County.