24-Hour Emergency Electrician in Tampa Bay, FL

Some Electrical Problems Cannot Wait Until Morning

Most electrical work can be scheduled. Some of it cannot. A burning smell coming from a wall, sparks from an outlet, a panel that is humming and warm to the touch, a breaker that trips the instant you reset it, half the house suddenly dead, or a service mast torn off the roof in a storm: these are the calls where waiting until Monday means risking a fire, electrocution or thousands of dollars in destroyed electronics. Lightning Bay Electric runs 24-hour emergency electrical service across Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Manatee counties, seven days a week, holidays included.

We are family owned and operated, based in Tampa, licensed by the Florida DBPR under EC13013571 and fully insured. When you call, you reach a Tampa Bay electrician, not an answering service reading a script. We will tell you immediately what to do to make the situation safe, give you an honest ETA, and dispatch a truck stocked with breakers, devices, wire, connectors and the common panel parts that resolve most emergencies in a single visit.

What to Do Right Now, Before We Arrive

If you see flames or heavy smoke, get everyone out of the house and call 911 before you call anyone else. For anything short of that, the first move is almost always the same: shut off the breaker for the affected circuit, or the main breaker if you cannot tell which one it is. A burning smell, a sparking outlet or a hot switch means a connection is overheating, and removing power stops the heat. Do not reset a breaker that trips instantly; it is tripping because there is a fault, and forcing it closed feeds that fault. Do not touch a panel that is wet or that you can hear arcing inside. Unplug computers, televisions and other sensitive electronics if lights are flickering or brightening, because that pattern can mean a lost neutral pushing high voltage to some outlets.

If a storm has pulled the service mast or meter off the house, or a tree has brought down the drop, stay well away from it, keep everyone clear, and call us and the utility. Do not attempt to push the mast back up. If your home has flooded and water reached the outlets or the panel, do not wade in to reset anything; treat the water as energized until the power is confirmed off. Our troubleshooting page explains what the most common symptoms usually mean, but when in doubt, call (813) 897-2665 and we will walk you through it.

The Emergencies We See Most in Tampa Bay

Lightning and storms drive a huge share of our emergency calls. A strike near the house can blow breakers, destroy the surge device, fry the AC board and leave scorch marks at the meter. Hurricane-force winds rip weatherheads and masts off rooftops across Riverview, Apollo Beach, St. Petersburg and Bradenton every season, and the utility will not reconnect until a licensed electrician has repaired the service. Flooding after Helene and Milton left thousands of panels and outlets submerged in salt water, and a panel that has been under water needs inspection and usually replacement before it can safely carry power again.

Beyond storms, the everyday emergencies are failed main breakers, lost neutrals at the meter or panel that send 200 volts to half the house, overheated aluminum wiring connections in 1970s homes, burned-out backstab connections behind outlets, water heater and AC circuits that have melted their breakers, and old Federal Pacific panels that finally failed to trip. We carry the parts to resolve almost all of these the same night.

Storm Damage, Utility Coordination and Getting Reconnected

After a storm, the line between your responsibility and the utility's is the point where the service drop attaches to your house. The drop and the meter are TECO's or Duke Energy's. The weatherhead, mast, service entrance cable, meter base and panel are yours, and the utility will not restore power to a damaged service until a licensed contractor has repaired it and, in most Tampa Bay jurisdictions, a permit has been issued. We handle that entire sequence: emergency repair of the mast and meter base, the permit under our license, and the reconnect request so you are back in line as fast as possible.

Homes that flooded face a different set of problems. Salt water corrodes bus bars and breaker contacts, and a panel that looks fine once dry can arc days later. We inspect, test and tell you honestly whether the panel and the affected circuits can be saved. Flood-damaged panels in ground-floor rooms almost always need replacement, and we can often complete that within days. If you have a generator, we can also wire a safe temporary connection so you have power while the permanent work is done.

Emergency Pricing Without the Gouging

Emergency service costs more than a scheduled visit because someone is leaving dinner or getting out of bed to come to you, and we are straightforward about it. After-hours dispatch in Tampa Bay generally starts at $250 to $450 for the trip and the first hour, with the repair priced in writing before we do it. What we do not do is invent problems, push a panel replacement that is not needed, or price by how worried you sound. If the fix is a $40 breaker, that is what we install. If the panel really has to go, we make it safe tonight and give you a daytime price for the replacement.

Every emergency repair we perform is done to code, and any work that requires a permit gets one. Lightning Bay Electric has built its reputation on the idea that the worst night of someone's year is exactly the wrong time to be dishonest with them. You can read how customers describe working with us on our reviews page.

After a Lightning Strike: What to Check and What to Document

Lightning strikes on or near Tampa Bay homes are common enough that we have a routine for them. The immediate signs are obvious: tripped breakers, dead outlets, a blown surge device, an air conditioner that will not start, a garage door opener or doorbell that died, scorch marks at the meter or the panel. The hidden damage is the concern. A strike can weld a breaker's contacts so it no longer trips, carbonize insulation inside a wall so a fault appears weeks later, and damage the grounding system. If you smell anything burning after a strike, or if the panel is warm or discolored, shut off the main and call us immediately. Otherwise, call us the same day for an inspection before you start resetting things.

Our post-strike assessment covers the service entrance and meter, the panel bus and every breaker, the surge device, the grounding electrode system, a sample of outlets and switches on every circuit, the air conditioner disconnect and contactor, pool and well equipment, and any outbuildings. We use thermal imaging to find connections that are heating after the event. The goal is to find every damaged component before it fails on its own, and to produce a written, photographed report you can hand to your insurance adjuster. Lightning damage is typically a covered peril on Florida homeowner policies, and a licensed electrician's documentation makes the claim straightforward.

Replacement of a surge protective device that sacrificed itself is part of the repair, and if the home had no surge protection, this is the moment most homeowners add it; our surge protection page covers the options. We also coordinate with your HVAC company when the air conditioner's board or compressor was hit, because the electrical side of that repair, the disconnect, the whip and the breaker, is ours. Keep every receipt and every photo. Adjusters respond well to a clear timeline from a licensed contractor, and we are glad to speak with them directly.

Call Now, Any Hour, Anywhere in Tampa Bay

We dispatch from Tampa and typically reach Hillsborough County homes within 60 to 90 minutes, with Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Manatee a bit longer depending on distance and the hour. Check your town on our service areas page. For an electrical emergency, do not use the contact form; call (813) 897-2665 directly and a Tampa Bay electrician will answer.