Power gone? Burning smell? Sparks? We are your local, rapid-response emergency electricians. We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to keep Norwich homes safe.
Electrical emergencies don’t stick to office hours. They happen at 11pm on a Sunday, or on Christmas morning just as the turkey goes in the oven. When disaster strikes, you don’t need a national call centre that puts you on hold; you need a qualified local electrician who can be at your door fast.
At Yare Electrical, we pride ourselves on our responsiveness. Our vans are fully stocked with the essential parts needed to fix 90% of domestic faults on the first visit. Whether your fuse box has blown, you have drilled through a cable, or your RCD won’t reset, our NICEIC-approved engineers are ready to help.
Do Not Risk It.
Electricity can kill. If you smell burning or see smoke, turn off your main switch immediately and call us.
What Counts as an Electrical Emergency?
Homeowners are often unsure if they should call an emergency electrician or wait until Monday. If you are experiencing any of the following, we class it as an urgent priority:
1. Total Loss of Power
If your neighbours have lights but you don’t, the fault is inside your home. This is often caused by a failure in your consumer unit or a main supply fuse blowing. Losing power means no heating, no cooking, and the risk of food spoiling in your freezer.
2. Tripping RCDs (The Switch That Won’t Stay Up)
Your Fuse Board is designed to trip to save your life. If it keeps tripping, it is doing its job—detecting a fault. This could be a faulty appliance (like a washing machine), a rodent chewing a cable, or water leaking into an outside light. Do not tape the switch up or force it on. This removes your protection against fatal electric shock.
3. Burning Smells & Smoking Accessories
A fishy smell is a classic sign of overheating Bakelite or plastic. This usually means a loose connection is “arcing” (sparking) inside a socket or switch. This is a direct fire hazard. Isolate the circuit immediately and call us.
4. Water Damage
If a pipe has burst or a bath has overflowed through the ceiling into a light fitting, water and electricity are mixing. Do not touch the wet switches. We can attend to safely isolate the affected circuits and verify the wiring is dry before re-energising.
What To Do Before We Arrive
While our engineer is on the way, you can take these steps to stay safe:
- Stay Calm: Do not touch any bare wires or wet electrical equipment.
- Isolate Mains: If safe to do so, turn off the large red “Main Switch” on your fuse box. This kills power to the whole house.
- Unplug Appliances: If your power went off when you turned on a specific appliance (e.g., the toaster), unplug it.
- Protect Frozen Food: Keep fridge and freezer doors closed. Food will stay frozen for several hours if the door is not opened.
Our Emergency Process: Diagnostic & Repair
We believe in transparent service. Here is what happens when you call Yare Electrical:
Step 1: The Initial Assessment
Our electrician will ask you what happened right before the power went out. We will then visually inspect your installation for obvious signs of damage.
Step 2: Fault Finding
Using specialist diagnostic testers, we perform “Insulation Resistance” tests to locate exactly where the fault is. Is it the kitchen socket circuit? Is it the garden lighting? We isolate the issue to a specific area.
Step 3: The Fix or “Make Safe”
Scenario A (The Fix): If it is a broken socket or a burnt-out breaker, we replace it immediately from van stock and restore full power.
Scenario B (Make Safe): Sometimes, the fault is deep under the floorboards or in a plastered wall that cannot be accessed at 2am without causing major damage. In this case, we will isolate only the faulty circuit (disconnecting it safely), allowing us to turn the rest of your house back on. We will then quote for a return visit to lift floors and repair the wiring permanently.
Why Do Electrical Faults Happen?
In Norwich, we have a mix of housing stock, from Victorian terraces to new builds. The most common causes of emergency calls we see are:
- DIY Failures: Putting a nail through a cable when hanging a picture, or a badly installed light fitting causing a short circuit.
- Old Wiring: Deteriorating rubber insulation in pre-1970s houses causing earth leakage faults. (If this is the case, you may need a partial rewire).
- Pests: Mice and squirrels love chewing on PVC cables in lofts, leaving bare copper exposed.
No Hidden Fees. No Call Centres.
When you search for “emergency electrician,” many results are national lead-generation agencies. They charge a premium and then sell your job to a subcontractor you’ve never met.
Yare Electrical is different.
- You Speak to Us: Our phone is answered by our local team in Norwich.
- Clear Pricing: We charge a fixed call-out fee that includes the first hour of labour. We will tell you this cost before we dispatch an engineer.
- Fully Insured: We carry £5m Public Liability insurance, so your home is protected while we work.
After The Emergency
Once the panic is over and your lights are back on, we don’t just disappear. If the fault was caused by aging infrastructure, we can provide a quote for a full electrical inspection (EICR) to give your home a thorough health check and prevent future breakdowns.
Areas We Cover
We aim to be with you within 60 minutes for emergency calls in:
Norwich City Centre | Sprowston | Thorpe St Andrew | Eaton | Cringleford | Hellesdon | Taverham | Wymondham | Brundall
We also cover the wider Norfolk area including Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Dereham.
Help Is On The Way
Don’t sit in the dark worrying. Call Yare Electrical’s 24/7 Emergency Line now on 01603 626400.