Emergency Electrician in Porto and Greater Porto, 24 Hours a Day

What Counts as an Electrical Emergency

Some situations can't wait until the morning: a burning smell from the consumer unit or a socket, sparks when you plug something in, a socket or switch that feels hot to the touch, bare cable within a child's reach, or water getting into the electrical installation. In any of these cases, the first step is to switch off the main breaker and then ring us. Cutting the power is always safer than poking around with the installation still live.

Then there are problems that are urgent because of their consequences rather than their danger: a total power cut in a home with a baby, an elderly person or someone who relies on electrical medical equipment; freezers full of stock in a shop; a restaurant in Matosinhos or in Foz that can't open without its cold room; an office with no power on a working day. Here the cost is financial or personal, and it mounts up by the hour.

And there are things that feel urgent but aren't, and in those cases we'll tell you so on the phone rather than sell you a night-time call-out. A lighting circuit down in a bedroom you don't use, a broken electric roller shutter, a socket that has simply stopped working with no sign of heat: none of these is worth paying an emergency rate for at two in the morning.

How Quickly We Can Get to You

In the municipality of Matosinhos and the neighbouring parts of Porto, our usual response time for a genuine emergency is around 30 to 60 minutes. In Gaia, Maia, Gondomar, Valongo and Ermesinde, allow a little longer depending on traffic and the time of day: the VCI ring road and the Circunvalação exit at rush hour make a real difference.

We always give you an honest estimate on the phone. If we're already tied up with another emergency and can't reach you in reasonable time, we'll say so rather than leave you waiting, because in that case the best thing for you is to call someone else, not sit without power for two hours waiting for someone who isn't coming.

Before we set off, we always try to understand the problem over the phone. Quite often we can talk you through a simple step, such as resetting a breaker, isolating a circuit or checking whether the street has lost power too, that either fixes the situation or saves a wasted trip.

If you're new to Portugal, a couple of practical points help us find you faster: have your full address ready, including the floor and the side of the landing (for example 2.º Esq. or 3.º Dto.), and let us know if there's an intercom code or a building caretaker we'll need to get past.

What an Emergency Call-Out Costs

An emergency job has a set charge for the call-out and the first hour, and we tell you what it is on the phone before we leave. Outside normal working hours, at weekends and on public holidays that charge is higher, as it is with any emergency service. What we never do is tell you the price only once we're standing at your door.

If the problem needs materials or work beyond that first visit, we explain what's still to be done and what it will cost before carrying on. In many cases the night-time visit makes the installation safe and the underlying repair is booked for normal hours, which works out cheaper for you.

We work with every kind of customer: private households, condomínios (the owners' associations that run apartment buildings), restaurants and cafés, shops and offices right across Greater Porto.

What to Do While You Wait for Us

If you notice a burning smell or heat coming from the consumer unit, switch off the main breaker and don't switch it back on. Resetting a breaker while the fault is still there is exactly how an electrical fault turns into a fire. Half an hour without power is by far the better option.

If what tripped was the RCD (the residual current device, known locally as the diferencial), unplug everything, reset it and then plug your appliances back in one at a time. Whichever one trips it again is the culprit. That single piece of information is worth more than half an hour of diagnosis: the usual suspects are the electric water heater, the washing machine and anything plugged in outdoors after rain.

And before you call anyone, check whether your neighbours have lost power too. If it's a grid fault, it's the distribution network operator that has to fix it, and paying for an electrician to come out would get you nothing.

Do you really answer at any hour?

Yes, we take emergency calls 24 hours a day, including weekends and public holidays. If we're already on another job, we tell you on the phone how long we'll be, so you can decide based on real information.

How much does an emergency call-out cost?

The charge for the call-out and first hour is given to you on the phone before we set off, and it depends on the time and the day. It's higher out of hours and at weekends. It is never sprung on you once we arrive.

The whole house has lost power. Should I call an electrician?

First check whether your neighbours or the street lights are out as well. If they are, it's a fault on the grid and E-Redes, the company that runs the distribution network, will fix it at no cost to you. If it's only your home, then calling us makes sense.

There's a burning smell from the fuse box. What should I do?

Switch off the main breaker straight away and leave it off. Then call us: a burning smell from the consumer unit is one of the few symptoms we always treat as top priority.

Do you come out at weekends and on bank holidays?

We do. Faults don't pick their day, and half of our emergency calls come in outside normal hours. What we will tell you frankly is when a problem can wait until Monday, because then it costs a good deal less and gets fixed just as well.

How can I tell whether the problem is my wiring or the grid?

Ask a neighbour. If the whole building or street is without power, the fault is on the distribution network and the operator deals with it, so calling an electrician would mean paying for a visit that achieves nothing. If only your flat is affected and the neighbours still have power, it's your installation and we'll sort it out.

Do you carry parts with you or do you have to go and get them?

We carry what fixes the vast majority of emergencies: standard breakers and RCDs, switch and socket mechanisms, cable and connectors. For specific equipment, such as a motor, a complete consumer unit or a branded part, we may need to order it in, and in that case we leave a safe temporary fix in place so things keep working.

Is there an on-call electrician service in Greater Porto?

Yes, we run an on-call service for electrical emergencies in Matosinhos, Porto, Gaia, Maia, Gondomar and Valongo, covering nights, weekends and public holidays. On the phone we give you the call-out charge and a realistic arrival time before we leave, and if the problem can wait for normal hours we'll tell you that too.

Can I explain the problem in English?

Yes. Describe what's happening in English and we'll work out with you whether it's an emergency. If the fault turns out to involve the grid operator or any Portuguese paperwork, we can explain what needs to happen and handle the Portuguese side for you.