Emergency call-outs
Emergency electrician in Milford, any hour of the day
When the power fails, a circuit keeps tripping or something smells hot, call 021 156 4005. Our electricians are available for emergency call-outs in Milford 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What to do before we arrive
A few minutes of the right action keeps people safe and often makes the fault quicker to find.
Make it safe
If a fitting is sparking, smoking or smells of burning, switch off at the main switch if you can reach the switchboard without touching anything wet or damaged, and keep everyone away. If there are flames, get out and call 111 first. Treat any fallen power line as live and stay well clear of it.
Check whether it is just your place
Look along the street. If the neighbours are dark too, the fault is probably on the network rather than in your house (more on that below). Either way, switch off lights and unplug appliances, so nothing is damaged by a surge when the power comes back.
Leave a tripped RCD alone if water is involved
After a storm, a leak or flooding, WorkSafe's advice is not to reset tripped circuit breakers, and RCDs in particular, until an electrician has checked them. Anything that has been wet, including plugs, sockets and chargers, needs checking before it is used again.
Call 021 156 4005
Tell us which lights and sockets are off, what was running when it happened, and whether water could have reached any wiring. That description is the start of the fault finding.
A network fault, or a fault in your home?
Milford's power comes through Vector's network, and Vector looks after the lines and equipment up to the point of supply, usually an isolating fuse on your boundary or on the nearest pole. From there to the meter is normally the property owner's service line, and everything after the meter is your own installation. When a whole street goes dark, the cause is usually on Vector's side: its power outages page lets you check your address for a current fault or report one, and lists cars hitting poles, birds and helium balloons in the lines, and storm-blown branches among the causes. An electrician cannot fix a network fault, so check there first if the neighbours are out too.
If your street has power and you do not, the problem may be on your side of the point of supply: Vector's advice is that your service line may be at fault and to call Vector, while a failed main switch or a fault inside the house that has taken out the main protection is where we come in. Vector also notes that extra safety checks are sometimes needed before a property is reconnected after an outage. If anyone in your household relies on powered medical equipment, Vector recommends registering that with your electricity retailer, so do it before you need it.
Emergency call-outs we attend
Storms, floods and the coast
Milford's emergencies have a local pattern. The suburbs around the Wairau Creek were some of the hardest hit in Auckland's 2023 floods, and Milford now has more Category 3 homes than any other suburb in Auckland, so heavy rain is taken seriously here. On the coast the threat is slower: BRANZ puts land within 500 metres of the sea, and within 100 metres of tidal estuaries such as the Wairau, in its highest exposure zone for wind-driven salt. Salt and damp find their way into outdoor sockets, garden lights and meter boxes, and the first sign is often an RCD that trips on a wet, windy night. If that is your call-out, the first job is making the circuit safe, and then we come back to the cause, which our outdoor lighting page also covers.
Emergency electrician questions
Will an electrician really come out in the middle of the night?
Yes. Our electricians are available for call-outs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends. Call 021 156 4005 and describe what has happened.
Can I reset a breaker that has tripped?
If there is no sign of water, heat or damage, unplug what was running on that circuit and try it once. If it trips again straight away, leave it off and call us. After a flood, a leak or a storm, do not reset it at all until an electrician has checked the circuit.
The whole street is out. Should I call you?
Not first. A street-wide outage is almost always on Vector's network, so check Vector's outage page and report it there. If the street comes back on and your place does not, Vector says your service line may be at fault and asks you to call it; call us if a breaker will not reset or something in the house was damaged when the power returned.
My hot water has stopped. Is that an emergency?
It is not dangerous on its own, but it is miserable. Our electricians repair the electrical side of hot water cylinders, and where the job needs a plumber we provide a fully insured and qualified one, so you are not left arranging two trades.
What if the fault is in a shared part of my apartment building?
We can find out whether the fault is inside your unit or on the building's shared supply, and make your own installation safe. Repairs to a shared switchboard or supply usually need the building manager's or body corporate's agreement, so have their details handy when you call.
Other electrical services in Milford
Electrical fault finding
Tracing tripping RCDs, dead sockets, flickering lights and wiring that has been wet, then repairing the cause.Read more
Switchboard upgrades
Old fuse boards replaced with circuit breakers and RCD protection, with room for the circuits a modern home needs.Read more
House rewiring
New cable, switches and sockets for older houses whose wiring has reached the end of its life.Read more
Heat pump installation
The circuit, isolating switch and outdoor unit position for a heat pump that has to live with salt air.Read more
LED and outdoor lighting
LED downlights that can sit under ceiling insulation, and garden, deck and path lighting built for the coast.Read more
Commercial electrical
Shops, cafes, offices and the shared areas of apartment buildings, worked around customers and residents.Read moreEnquiries
Contact us
Call 021 156 4005 - our electricians are available for call-outs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - or leave a message below.
021 156 4005- Auckland
- Call-outs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week