24 Hour Emergency Electrician in St. Petersburg, FL

Burning smell, sparking outlet, half the house dark, or storm damage to your meter? Call (727) 476-7079. We take emergency calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we’re based about 11 miles from downtown St. Pete at 6248 Seminole Blvd.

Call now: (727) 476-7079. Emergency calls answered 24/7.

Panel replacement in St. Petersburg, FL: new exterior panel beside the meter, with wiring run in conduit — A St. Petersburg job: new exterior panel beside the meter, wiring run in conduit.

Safety first: If you see smoke or flames, or someone has been shocked, call 911 first. If it’s safe, turn off the main breaker. Stay away from downed lines and anything electrical that’s in or near water. Then call us.

What counts as an electrical emergency

Call us right away, day or night, for:

A burning or hot-plastic smell from an outlet, switch, light or the panel
Sparks, buzzing or crackling from an outlet, switch or breaker
A panel, breaker, outlet or switch plate that’s hot to the touch
Partial power loss, like half the house out or lights that dim badly when the AC kicks on (often a failing service connection)
A breaker that trips immediately every time you reset it
Water in or near the panel, meter or outlets from flooding, a roof leak or a burst pipe
Storm damage to the service mast, weatherhead, meter can or outside wiring
No power to a business that can’t wait, like a restaurant walk-in cooler or medical refrigeration

Is it your house or the grid? If your neighbors are dark too, it’s probably a utility outage. Report it to Duke Energy through the Duke Energy app or duke-energy.com, and check the outage map. If it’s just your home, or only part of it, call us.

Why St. Pete homes have more electrical emergencies

St. Petersburg has the oldest housing in Pinellas County. The city’s median home was built in 1969 (Census ACS 2020–2024), and in neighborhoods like Historic Kenwood, Old Northeast, Crescent Lake, Old Southeast and Roser Park, many homes are much older than that. Older systems fail in predictable ways:

Knob-and-tube and cloth-insulated wiring in pre-war bungalows, with brittle insulation and no ground
Fuse boxes and Federal Pacific or Zinsco panels in mid-century homes in areas like Disston Heights, Jungle Terrace and Euclid–St. Paul, where breakers may not trip when they should
Aluminum branch wiring in some 1960s and ’70s homes, where loose connections at outlets and switches run hot
60- to 100-amp services that are overloaded by modern AC, kitchens and EV charging, which shows up as dimming lights, warm panels and nuisance tripping
Overloaded extension cords and space heaters on the few cold nights we get

When we fix the emergency, we’ll tell you what caused it and whether there’s a bigger issue to plan for, like a panel replacement, service upgrade or rewiring. We’ll give you an itemized quote for that later; there’s no pressure to decide at 2 AM.

Storms, flooding and lightning in St. Pete

Hurricane Helene’s surge in September 2024 put saltwater into homes in low-lying neighborhoods like Shore Acres and Snell Isle and along Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay. Hurricane Milton followed two weeks later with damaging winds and long outages. Here’s what we tell St. Pete homeowners after a storm:

Don’t re-energize flooded equipment. Panels, outlets, breakers and meter equipment that sat in saltwater usually have to be replaced, not dried out. Corrosion keeps working after the water’s gone.
Duke Energy may not restore power until the damage is repaired and, in some cases, inspected. We assess the system, make it safe, and pull the permits for the repairs.
Who owns what. In most cases Duke Energy is responsible for the service drop and the meter. The homeowner is responsible for the weatherhead, mast, meter can and everything inside. If a tree or wind ripped the mast off your house, that repair is ours to do, and Duke reconnects after.
Rebuilding in a flood zone. If your home is being substantially improved after storm damage, the City may require electrical equipment above a set elevation. We check before we rebuild.
Generator safety. Never backfeed a house through a dryer outlet. It can electrocute utility crews and neighbors. If you want a safe connection for next time, see generator installation and hookups.

Lightning is a fact of life in Tampa Bay every summer. A nearby strike can take out AC boards, pool controls, garage door openers and electronics at once, and sometimes damages wiring and breakers. We troubleshoot surge damage and can add whole-house surge protection.

St. Pete businesses: after-hours commercial calls

Restaurants on Central Ave, shops in the Grand Central and Edge districts, offices downtown and medical practices across the city can’t wait until Monday when a circuit fails. We handle after-hours commercial troubleshooting and repairs, and we can come back during business hours to fix the underlying problem. See commercial electrical service.

What happens when you call

We answer and ask a few questions. What you’re seeing, smelling or hearing, and whether anyone is in danger. We’ll tell you what to do to stay safe until we arrive.
We tell you the after-hours rate before we dispatch. No surprises.
We find the cause, make it safe, and fix what can be fixed on the spot. Emergency repairs can start right away. When a permit is required, we file it promptly with the City of St. Petersburg Building & Permitting office at the Municipal Services Center (One 4th Street N.) or with Pinellas County for unincorporated addresses.
Bigger repairs get an itemized quote. If the fix is a panel, service or rewiring job, we make it safe now and give you an itemized quote after the site visit.

Hours: emergency calls 24/7. Office 7 AM–5 PM, with weekend service for non-emergency work.

Not an emergency? We fix those too

Dead outlets, a circuit that stopped working, flickering lights, a GFCI that won’t reset, or a breaker that trips once in a while can usually wait for a scheduled visit at our regular rate. Call us, describe it, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s urgent. See outlet repair & installation and residential electrical service.

Hurricane season notes for this area

October is still hurricane season on the Gulf coast. For planned electrical work we keep the advice practical:

Standby generators need a listed transfer switch ahead of the panel. Portable-generator interlocks are a different product and are not installed in a SPAN Panel. See generator installation and hookups.
Whole-house surge protection is required by Florida’s adopted electrical code whenever a home’s service equipment is replaced, and it’s a smart add-on before storm season even when you’re not upgrading. See whole-house surge protection.
After a storm: do a visual check before restoring power if the house took on water, if you smell burning, or if the meter can or panel was submerged or damaged. Call us for a post-storm inspection rather than flipping the main back on and hoping. Emergency calls are answered 24/7; we do not promise a response time.
Permits: generator hookups, panel and service work still need the correct city or county permit. We pull those when we do the work.

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 like a panel or service replacement. Check your options without affecting your credit score. Ask us and we’ll include the financing link with your itemized quote.

Why St. Pete calls Keywest Lights & Electric

Licensed electrical contractor, EC#13014717, in business since 2010
24/7 emergency calls, from our shop at 6248 Seminole Blvd, about 11 miles from downtown St. Pete
Woman-owned, family-run business
Residential and commercial, bondable to $1M, with projects up to $2M
Home Depot preferred contractor

St. Petersburg emergency electrician FAQ

Is there really a 24-hour electrician in St. Pete? Yes. Call (727) 476-7079 any time, day or night, including weekends and holidays, for electrical emergencies.

How fast can you get to me? It depends on the time, traffic and how many storm calls are coming in, but we’re about 11 miles from downtown St. Pete and we’ll give you an honest arrival estimate when you call.

Do you charge more at night and on weekends? Yes. After-hours calls are billed at our after-hours rate, and we tell you the price before we start. Member Care Plan members get 7% off after-hours labor.

My outlet sparked and now it’s dead. Is that an emergency? If there’s any burning smell, scorching or heat, yes. Turn off that circuit’s breaker and call us. If it was a single small spark when plugging something in and the outlet is cool, it can usually wait for a scheduled visit, but don’t use it until it’s checked.

My panel got wet in the storm surge. Can I turn the power back on? No. Leave it off and have it evaluated. Equipment that’s been submerged, especially in saltwater, usually needs to be replaced, and the utility may require repairs and an inspection before reconnecting.

Do you work in Gulfport, Pinellas Park and the beaches too? Yes. We take emergency calls across Pinellas County, including Gulfport, Pinellas Park, Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach.

Electrical emergency in St. Pete? Call (727) 476-7079 now, 24/7.

ALWAYS OPEN! We work 24/7

24/7 Emergency Electrician in St. Petersburg, FL