Electrician with a flashlight inspecting a residential breaker panel in a dark basement during a partial power outage

Urgent electrical problems

Emergency Electrician Help in Pennsylvania

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.

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Call for Urgent 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

Last updated: 2026-10-11

Pennsylvania Electricians is an independent contractor-referral service that connects Pennsylvania homeowners, landlords, and property managers with participating independent electricians. This page covers emergency electrician calls: which problems are urgent, which ones need 911 or the utility before an electrician, and what to expect. Availability after hours depends on participating electricians in your area; we can't promise a response time.

Call 911 or the utility first when

An electrician fixes the problem. These situations need emergency services or the utility to make things safe first:

Smoke, flame, or sparking from an outlet, switch, fixture, appliance, or the panel: get everyone out and call 911.
A burning smell you can't trace, especially one that gets stronger: leave and call 911.
A downed or sagging power line, or a damaged meter or service mast: stay well away and call the utility. In Met-Ed territory (York, Reading, Hanover) that's 1-888-544-4877; in PPL territory (Lancaster, Harrisburg, Allentown) it's 1-800-342-5775.
Water near the panel, outlets, or cords after a flood or leak: don't walk into a flooded basement. Ask the utility to disconnect power.
Someone has been shocked and is hurt: call 911. Don't touch them if they may still be in contact with the source.

When you need an electrician urgently

After everyone is safe, these problems justify an urgent call rather than a scheduled visit:

The panel or a breaker is hot, buzzing, or crackling
An outlet or switch is scorched, melted, or smells hot
Part of the house has no power and nothing has tripped, while the neighbors have power
Lights brighten and dim across the house, which can mean a loose neutral connection
A breaker trips immediately every time you reset it
No power to heat, a sump pump, or medical equipment in winter or during a storm

What can usually wait for a regular appointment

Not everything electrical is an emergency, and calling after hours costs more. These can usually wait if nothing is hot, smoking, or sparking: a single dead outlet, one flickering fixture, a breaker that tripped once and has stayed on since reset, a light switch that's stopped working, or planning work like a panel upgrade. Stop using the affected outlet or circuit in the meantime.

Partial outages: yours or the utility's?

If half the house lost power, check whether the neighbors still have it. If they don't, it's a utility outage; report it to Met-Ed or PPL. If they do and nothing in your panel has tripped, the problem is usually at your service connection or panel, which is an electrician's job, although some service-drop problems belong to the utility. Don't touch the meter. Our guide to when to call an emergency electrician goes through more cases.

Signs it's time to call now

A hot, buzzing, or crackling panel or breaker
A scorched, melted, or hot-smelling outlet or switch
Power out in part of the house while neighbors have power
Lights brightening and dimming across the house
A breaker that trips again immediately after one reset
Loss of power to heat, a sump pump, or medical equipment

What an emergency electrician costs

Expect to pay more outside normal hours. Angi reports that emergency visits often cost about double the normal hourly rate, or $100 to $200 added to regular rates for nights and weekends, on top of a typical $100 to $200 service call. Ask about after-hours pricing on the phone before anyone comes out. The repair itself is priced like any other job once the cause is found; see the Pennsylvania cost guide.

Night, weekend, and holiday timing
Travel distance, especially outside cities
Whether a temporary fix is made now and the full repair scheduled later
Parts needed on the spot
Utility coordination for service or meter problems

Electric meter and service mast on the side of a brick Pennsylvania rowhome after a storm

What to do while you wait

Keep people away from the hazard, and keep children and pets out of the area.
Turn off and unplug anything on the affected circuit if you can do it without touching anything hot, wet, or damaged.
Don't open the panel or remove covers. The service conductors stay live even with the main breaker off.
Stay out of standing water anywhere near electrical equipment.
Have the address, ZIP code, and what happened ready for the electrician.

Questions to ask on an emergency call

What's your after-hours or emergency rate, and is there a service fee?
Can you make it safe tonight and give me a written price for the full repair?
Do you need the utility involved?
Pennsylvania has no statewide electrician license. Does my municipality require one for this work, and what's your license number if so? What's your PAHIC registration number?
Will this need a permit or inspection afterward?

Related electrical guides

Straight answers

What you can safely do vs. when to call

The safe homeowner steps are short on purpose. Anything past them, including opening the panel cover, belongs to an electrician.

Situation	Safe for you to do	Call an electrician	Call 911 or the utility first
A breaker tripped once	Unplug what was running, then switch the breaker fully off and back on one time	It trips again, or won't stay on	It sparks, smokes, or smells hot
An outlet stopped working	Look for a tripped GFCI outlet nearby and press its reset button once	Still dead, or several outlets are out	Scorch marks with smoke or flame
Lights flicker or dim	Check that the bulb is snug and the right type	Several rooms flicker, or lights dim when appliances start	Flicker with burning smell or buzzing at the panel
Warm or discolored outlet, switch, or cover plate	Stop using it and unplug anything plugged in	Always: heat means a bad connection	Burning smell, smoke, or melting
Panel is hot, buzzing, or crackling	Stay back; keep the area clear	Right away	Smoke, sparks, or a burning smell
Downed line, damaged meter, or water reached outlets or the panel	Stay away and keep others away	After the utility has made it safe	Always: call 911 and Met-Ed, PPL, or your utility

General guidance only, based on homeowner safety material from the Electrical Safety Foundation International. It is not a diagnosis. If something seems dangerous, treat it as dangerous.

What to expect

What an electrician visit usually involves

Every house and every problem is different. These are the stages most residential electrical jobs go through.

You describe the problem
What stopped working, when it started, whether a breaker trips or a fuse blows, any warmth, buzzing, flicker, or burning smell, and roughly how old the house and panel are. That helps the electrician come prepared, but no one can diagnose an electrical problem from symptoms alone.
On-site diagnosis
The electrician tests the affected circuits and devices, looks at the panel and the wiring they can reach, and works out whether the cause is one failed part, an overloaded circuit, a wiring fault, or something bigger.
A written scope and price
Before work starts, ask for the scope, price, and whether a permit is needed in writing. Under Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, home improvement contracts over $500 must be in writing.
The repair or upgrade
Small repairs are often finished on the first visit. Panel replacements and service upgrades usually need a permit, a scheduled power shutoff, and coordination with the utility (Met-Ed, PPL, or your local utility) to disconnect and reconnect the meter.
Inspection where required
Work done under a permit is inspected under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, by the municipality's code office or a third-party inspection agency it uses. Keep the permit and inspection paperwork with your house records.

How the referral works

How our contractor-matching service works

You call the number on this site
Have the property's 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.

Call for Urgent Electrical Help

Call and we will try to connect you with a participating independent electrician who serves your area.

Call (717) 409-6059

Questions

Emergency Electrician questions

Is a burning smell from an outlet an emergency?

Treat it as one. Stop using the outlet and unplug anything in it. If there's smoke, sparking, or the smell is getting stronger, leave the house and call 911. Otherwise, call an electrician urgently; heat and a burning smell mean a bad connection.

Who do I call for a downed power line in Pennsylvania?

Your electric utility, and 911 if anyone is in danger. Met-Ed (York, Reading, Hanover areas) is 1-888-544-4877 and PPL (Lancaster, Harrisburg, Allentown areas) is 1-800-342-5775. Assume any downed line is energized and stay well away.

Do emergency electricians cost more?

Usually. Angi reports emergency visits often cost about double the normal hourly rate, or an added $100 to $200 for nights and weekends. Ask before the electrician comes out.

Is help available 24 hours a day?

Call and ask. Availability depends on which participating electricians cover your ZIP code and when you call, so we can't promise around-the-clock service or a response time.

Half my house has no power. What should I do?

Check whether the neighbors have power. If they don't, report the outage to your utility. If they do and nothing has tripped, the problem is likely at your panel or service connection; call an electrician and don't touch the meter.

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