Emergency Electrician Wellington

An electrical emergency is a fault that could injure someone or start a fire if it is left overnight. In Wellington homes that usually means a hot smell from a socket or the switchboard, a light fitting filling with water after wind-driven rain, a breaker that trips the instant you push it back up, or wiring damaged by a falling branch, a slip or a renovation gone wrong. This page covers the first few minutes, when 111 comes before us, and what our electrician does on arrival.

Plenty of faults feel urgent but can safely wait for a booked visit: one dead power point, a light that flickers now and then, or a fan that has stopped. Our electrical repairs page covers that planned fault finding, and the same team does both.

Pricing: a free quote and a fixed price agreed before we start. You get a written, itemised quote, and small jobs can be quoted from photos.

Fault annoying but not dangerous, like a dead socket or a light that will not work? See electrical repairs.

Signs that need an electrician today

Treat it as urgent if you can smell hot plastic near an outlet, switch, light or the board, or hear crackling or buzzing inside a wall. Sparks when you plug something in, a faceplate that is warm to the touch, or brown marks around a socket all point the same way. So does water in a ceiling light or anywhere near the switchboard.

A breaker or RCD that trips again as soon as it is reset has found a fault it will not tolerate. Leave it off. Resetting it over and over, or wedging it on, removes the protection that is doing its job.

• Burning smell, scorching or melted plastic
• Sparking, crackling or warm sockets and switches
• Water in light fittings, ceilings or the switchboard
• A breaker or RCD that will not stay on
• Cables damaged by a fallen tree, slip or building work

Shock or fire: ring 111 before anyone else

WorkSafe's advice when someone is in contact with a live source is to avoid touching them, because the current can pass to you. Turn the power off at the appliance or the main switch. If that is not possible, move them clear using something dry that does not conduct, such as a wooden broom handle, then call 111 for an ambulance. WorkSafe also says anyone who has had a shock should get medical advice even if they seem fine.

Never use water on an electrical fire. Cut the power if it is safe to reach the board and call 111. After any shock, however small, WorkSafe advises keeping the power off until an electrician has checked the installation. That check is our part of the job.

How It Works

Wind, rain and storm damage in Wellington

Wellington's weather is hard on outdoor electrics. NIWA's climate summary for the region records gusts above 63 km/h at Wellington Airport on about 166 days a year, and above 96 km/h on about 24. Strong wind drives rain sideways into exterior lights, outdoor sockets, meter boxes and roof spaces, and brings down branches across service lines. Winter is the wettest season, and July 2022 was the city's wettest July on record, with hundreds of slips reported across Wellington.

WorkSafe says anything electrical that has been wet, including plugs, sockets and chargers, should be checked by an electrician before it is used. If water has come into the house, switch off at the mains and leave it off. WorkSafe also warns against resetting breakers or RCDs that tripped during flooding until they have been checked, and against using an EV charger that has been under water until an electrician has inspected it.

After an earthquake

The Wellington Fault runs through Karori and the city and on up the Hutt Valley, and there are many other active faults in the region. After a strong shake, look for a switchboard that has pulled away from its mounting, cracked fittings, cables stretched where the house has moved on its piles, or appliances that have toppled onto their leads.

If you smell burning or see damage, turn the power off at the main switch if it is safe to reach. If you smell gas, leave the house and call 111 from outside. WorkSafe's guidance after a natural event is to have the installation checked before power is restored to damaged parts of the house.

No power: your house or the network?

Check whether the neighbours still have lights and whether anything has tripped on your board. If the whole street is out, it is a network fault. Wellington Electricity runs the lines network for Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua, and Electra covers the Kāpiti Coast, so a street outage is theirs to fix. Keep well away from any fallen line and treat it as live.

If only your home, or one part of it, has lost power, the fault is on your side of the meter and that is our job. WorkSafe suggests switching off lights and unplugging appliances during an outage so a surge does not damage them when supply returns.

What our electrician does on arrival

The first priority is a safe installation. We find the fault, isolate it, and get the rest of the house back on where that is safe. You are told a fixed call-out fee on the phone before we come, rather than facing an open-ended hourly charge.

Many faults are fixed in that visit. If the proper repair needs parts or a larger job, such as replacing a scorched board, we leave the house safe and give you a written, itemised price before anything more is done. We cover every region from Ōtaki to Wainuiomata, including the Hutt Valley. Any new fixed wiring comes with a Certificate of Compliance.

Why Choose Cheeky's Electrical for Emergency Electrician

Emergency Electrician FAQs

Emergency Electrician Near You

Find your region or suburb for local emergency electrician information:

Related Electrical Services

• Electrical Repairs
• Switchboard Upgrades
• House Rewiring

Emergency Electrician Guides

• Trees, Wind and the Power Line to Your House: Who Is Responsible?
• Backup Power for Wellington Homes: Generators and Batteries
• Power Out in Wellington? How to Tell If It's Your House or the Network

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