Call immediately for a burning or fishy plastic smell near an outlet or the panel, visible arcing or sparking, a panel that is warm or buzzing, scorch marks around a device, or a partial outage where half the house is dark and the rest of the street is fine. That last one is usually a failed neutral, which lets voltage swing high on one leg and destroys electronics while you wait. These are not next-week problems.
If you smell burning or see arcing, shut off the main breaker if you can reach it safely and dry, and call. Do not stand in water to reach a panel and do not open a panel cover. If there are flames or you can smell smoke, call 911 first — we work behind the fire department, not instead of it.
We answer around the clock and give you an honest arrival window rather than an optimistic one. The first visit is about making the situation safe and getting you power where it is safe to have it; the permanent repair follows, sometimes the same night and sometimes once a part is in hand. You get told which it is on site.
Common questions
Half my house has no power but the street does. Is that an emergency?+
Treat it as one. When one leg of your 240V service fails — most often an open neutral or a loose service connection — voltage on the remaining circuits can swing well above 120V and damage everything plugged in. Turn off sensitive equipment and call.
What does an after-hours call cost?+
There is a call-out fee for nights, weekends and holidays, quoted to you on the phone before we dispatch, plus labour and parts. You will know the number before anyone gets in a truck.
Should I call you or ComEd?+
If the outage covers your whole block, or the damage is at the weatherhead, the mast or the drop from the pole, that is ComEd's side of the meter — call them. Anything from the meter inward is ours. If you are not sure, call us and we will tell you which it is.
Other services
Most jobs touch more than one of these. Ask and we will tell you which.
