Burning smell from an outlet in a 1970s condo, half your unit dark while the neighbors have power, or water that reached the breaker panel during a storm? Call (727) 476-7079. We take electrical emergency calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for South Pasadena condo units, co-op apartments, 55+ communities, villas and single-family homes, from the bayfront along Pasadena Avenue South to the streets off Shore Drive. Our shop is about 7 miles away at 6248 Seminole Blvd in Seminole.
Call now: (727) 476-7079. Emergency calls answered 24/7.
Safety first: If there’s smoke or fire, or someone has been shocked, call 911 first. If you can reach your unit’s main breaker safely and you’re standing somewhere dry, switch it off. Stay away from water near outlets, the panel or a ground-floor electrical room. Then call us.
When to call us at 2 AM
These are worth a call any hour in South Pasadena:
- An outlet, switch or cover plate that’s warm, discolored or smells like burning plastic, especially in a building with aluminum branch wiring
- Sparks or a pop when something is plugged in, or a breaker that trips again the moment you reset it
- Part of the unit dark while the rest works, or lights that brighten and dim, which can point to a failing connection on the feeder or a lost neutral
- A hot, buzzing or scorched unit panel, or a breaker that won’t reset at all
- Water dripping into a fixture or the panel from the unit above, a roof leak or an AC drain line
- Storm water in the garage, carport or ground-floor electrical room
- A clubhouse, pool pump or common-area circuit failing in a 55+ community after hours
Lights out on the whole block? Then it’s most likely a utility outage: check the outage map in the Duke Energy app or on duke-energy.com and report it there. When the problem stops at your unit, your stack or one side of the building, that’s a call for us.
Why South Pasadena emergencies are different
South Pasadena has about 5,300 residents, and its median home was built in 1978 (Census ACS 2020–2024). It’s a small, condo-heavy city at the foot of the Corey Causeway, and most of our calls here come from units inside larger buildings. That changes the night-time questions:
- Is it your unit or the building? In most condos, the panel and wiring inside your unit are yours. The meter bank, the main feeders and the common electrical rooms belong to the association. Co-ops are governed under a different chapter of Florida law, and their leases and bylaws decide who fixes what.
- Who has the meter room key at night? We’ll ask you for the property manager’s after-hours contact, because some repairs need the feeder shut off at the meter bank.
- Does a shutdown affect neighbors? We try to isolate the fault to your unit so the rest of the floor keeps power.
Aluminum wiring and the burning-smell call
Some South Pasadena buildings from the late ’60s and ’70s were wired with aluminum branch circuits. Aluminum expands and contracts more than copper, and over decades the connections at outlets, switches and breakers can loosen, oxidize and run hot. That’s why a faint burning smell or a warm cover plate in one of these units deserves a call, not a wait.
On an emergency visit, we find the overheating connection, make it safe, and repair it with connectors approved for aluminum. If more of the unit needs attention, we explain what we saw and quote the rest in daylight, whether that’s connector remediation throughout or rewiring. See rewiring and aluminum wiring repair.
After Helene: surge water and electrical rooms
In September 2024, Helene’s storm surge pushed water into ground floors along South Pasadena’s bayfront. In one senior apartment tower, the surge destroyed the ground-floor electrical panels and mechanical equipment, and residents were out for months while it was rebuilt. Parts of the city along Boca Ciega Bay are mapped in FEMA flood zone AE.
If water reaches electrical equipment in your building or home:
- Don’t switch anything back on. Saltwater-soaked breakers, bus bars and meter equipment can fail or arc when re-energized, sometimes weeks later.
- Call us for the unit or home side, and the association for its equipment. We can coordinate with the building’s electrical contractor when both sides are damaged.
- Expect a permit and an inspection before reconnection. Duke Energy won’t reconnect a flooded home or business until a licensed electrician has inspected it, made the repairs and the local building authority has signed off. In South Pasadena, that permit comes from the Community Improvement Department at the City Hall Annex, 6940 Hibiscus Ave. S. We file it and schedule the inspection.
- Replace, don’t dry out. Panels and breakers that sat in saltwater should be replaced. If the panel goes, a South Pasadena panel upgrade gets its own itemized quote.
Know your evacuation zone before the season starts with Pinellas County’s Know Your Zone tool. If someone in your home relies on powered medical equipment, tell us when you call, and consider Pinellas County’s special needs evacuation registry ahead of a storm.
Generators in condos and villas
Portable generators can’t run inside a garage, on a lanai under the building or near an open window. In most condo buildings they aren’t allowed at all, so check your association’s rules. For villas and single-family homes, use extension cords or a properly installed inlet and interlock, never a homemade cord into a dryer outlet: back-feeding can energize the lines outside and injure a lineworker. See generator installation and hookups.
What happens when you call
- You talk to a person, not a phone tree. Tell us what you see and smell, whether anyone is in danger, and which building and unit you’re in. We’ll walk you through making it safe and give you an honest arrival estimate.
- You hear the after-hours rate before we dispatch. No surprises later.
- We find the cause and make it safe, and repair what can be repaired on that visit. If the fault is in the building’s equipment, we say so and help you reach management.
- Bigger repairs get an itemized quote after the site visit, with the permit handled for you.
Hours: emergency calls 24/7. Office 7 AM–5 PM, with weekend service for non-emergency work.
Can it wait for a regular visit?
A dead outlet with no smell or heat, a GFCI that trips only when the hair dryer runs, or a bathroom fan that stopped can usually wait for a scheduled visit at our regular rate. Tell us what’s happening and we’ll say honestly whether it can wait. See outlet repair and installation.
Warranty, membership and financing
- 3-year workmanship warranty, extended to 5 years for Member Care Plan members. Members also get 7% off labor, including after-hours labor.
- Financing available through Acorn Finance, subject to credit approval for larger repairs such as a unit panel or rewiring. Check your options without affecting your credit score. Ask us and we’ll include the financing link with your itemized quote.
Why South Pasadena calls Keywest Lights & Electric
- Licensed electrical contractor, EC#13014717, in business since 2010
- Based at 6248 Seminole Blvd, Seminole, FL 33772, about 7 miles from South Pasadena
- At home in South Pasadena’s condo and co-op buildings: we call the manager, find the meter room and isolate the fault to your unit when we can
- Residential and commercial, bondable to $1M, with projects up to $2M
- Woman-owned, family-run business and Home Depot preferred contractor
South Pasadena emergency electrician FAQ
Is there a 24-hour electrician for South Pasadena? Yes. Call (727) 476-7079 any time, including nights, weekends and holidays.
How long will it take you to reach South Pasadena? It depends on the time of night, traffic on Pasadena Avenue and the Corey Causeway approach, and the calls already in line. We’re about 7 miles off in Seminole, and we’ll give you a realistic arrival time on the phone rather than a number we can’t stand behind.
Half my condo has no power but my neighbors are fine. What’s wrong? Often a failed breaker, a loose connection on the feeder or a lost leg of the service to your unit. Turn off anything that smells hot and call us. If the problem is in the building’s equipment, we’ll tell you and help you reach management.
I smell something burning near an outlet but nothing looks wrong. Should I call? Yes, especially in a building with aluminum wiring. Turn off that circuit at the panel if you can and don’t use the outlet until it’s checked.
Water from the unit above is coming through my light fixture. What do I do? Turn off that circuit or the unit’s main if it’s safe to reach, keep away from the wet area, and call us. Let the association know too, since the leak itself may be their repair.
Do you charge more at night? Yes. After-hours calls are billed at our after-hours rate, and you hear the price before we dispatch.
Do you also take emergency calls in Gulfport and St. Pete Beach? Yes, both are our neighbors across the bay and the causeway. See our Gulfport emergency electrician and St. Pete Beach emergency electrician pages.
Electrical emergency in South Pasadena? Call (727) 476-7079 now, 24/7.
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