Emergency electrician in Birmingham, 24 hours
No power, tripping you can't reset, or a burning smell? Call and an electrician will be sent out, day or night.
While you wait
- If something is burning, sparking or wet, switch off at the main switch on the consumer unit, but only if it's dry and safe to reach.
- Don't touch damaged sockets, switches or wires.
- If there's fire or smoke, get out and call 999.
- Unplug appliances on the circuit that keeps tripping.
Emergencies we attend
- Total or partial loss of power
- RCD or breaker tripping and won't reset
- Burning smell, scorch marks or buzzing from sockets and switches
- Water leaking onto lights or electrics
- Damaged cables and exposed wiring
- Tenant callouts for landlords and letting agents
Power cut or a fault in your home?
Before you call, a quick check can save you time.
- Look outside. If street lights and neighbours are off too, it's a power cut. Call 105, the free power cut number.
- Check your meter. On a prepayment meter, make sure you still have credit.
- Check your fuse box. If a switch has flipped down, something in your home has tripped it.
How to reset a tripped switch
- Unplug everything on the circuit that went off.
- Push the tripped switch fully down, then back up.
- If it stays on, plug things back in one at a time. The one that trips it again is the faulty item.
- If it trips straight away with nothing plugged in, leave it off and call us. The fault is in the wiring.
Never tape a switch on, swap a fuse for a bigger one, or keep resetting something that won't stay on. Those switches are there to stop fires and shocks.
Water and electrics
If water is dripping through a light fitting or onto sockets, don't touch them. Turn off the power at the main switch if you can reach it with dry hands, standing somewhere dry. Then turn off the water at the stopcock. Once the leak is fixed, the wiring needs testing before the power goes back on, because water can keep causing problems after things look dry.
We do plumbing too, so we can fix the leak as well. See our emergency plumberpage for what to do while you wait.
After an emergency repair
An emergency visit is about making things safe and getting the power back on. Sometimes the fault turns out to be a sign of a wider problem, like old wiring or a fuse box with no RCD protection. If so, we'll explain what we found in plain English and what your options are, so you can decide what to do next without any pressure.
That might be an EICR to check the rest of the wiring. Or it might be anew consumer unit with RCD protection built in.
Common questions
Is it an emergency?
Yes if you have no power and the trip will not reset, a burning smell or scorch marks on a socket or switch, sparks, water near electrics, or exposed wires. If only one appliance has stopped, it is usually the appliance, not the wiring.
My whole street has no power. Should I call you?
No. A street-wide power cut is a network fault. Call 105, the free national power cut number, or check the National Grid Electricity Distribution website.
Do you charge more out of hours?
Out-of-hours rates apply in the evening, overnight and at weekends. We tell you the rate on the phone before anyone is sent.