Emergency
Electrician
in the Algarve

Total Power Loss — What's Causing It and What to Check First

The most urgent call we receive overnight is complete loss of power to a property. A total blackout — where the entire property has gone dark and the consumer unit won't reset — is frightening, particularly in an unfamiliar property at night. The cause is almost always one of three things: a fault on the supply from the Portuguese grid that requires E-REDES to investigate, a tripped main isolator that won't stay on because of a downstream fault, or a failed component in the consumer unit itself. The critical thing is knowing which one it is — because the action you take is different in each case, and attempting to reset a consumer unit that has tripped due to a wiring fault can be dangerous. When you call us, we diagnose over the phone in English first, tell you exactly what to check safely, and dispatch immediately if needed. We cover urgent electrical callouts across Faro , Albufeira , Lagos , Vilamoura , Tavira and the entire Algarve. Same-day response Monday to Friday 9am–6pm, plus emergency cover every night 8pm–7am including weekends and public holidays. If you believe the fault is on the main supply before the meter rather than inside the property, also call E-REDES on 800 506 506 — they manage the network, we manage everything inside your property.

Burning Smells and Sparking — When to Leave the Property

A burning smell from a socket, switch or the fuse box is a genuine emergency — not something to monitor until morning. A burning smell from electrical fittings means something is already overheating inside your installation. In an Algarve property with wiring that is thirty or forty years old, an overheating connection can progress to a fire very quickly. Black marks or discolouration around a socket or switch, a socket with melted plastic around the pins, or the smell of burning plastic from any electrical fitting are all signs the fault has already progressed beyond a warning stage. If you notice a burning smell at night: switch off the affected circuit if you can identify it, and if the smell is coming from near the consumer unit, switch off the main isolator and keep people away from the area. Then call us. We treat burning smell callouts as emergencies and dispatch immediately — at any hour of the night across the Algarve. Do not go back to sleep and investigate in the morning. Burning smells from electrics are one situation where acting immediately is not an overreaction.

RCD Tripping and Won't Reset — How to Diagnose It Safely

An RCD or circuit breaker that keeps tripping and won't stay reset is another frequent overnight callout across the Algarve. A consumer unit that has tripped, been reset, tripped again within minutes, and now won't stay on no matter what — with half the property dark as a result — is a fault that needs diagnosing properly, not just repeatedly reset. The most common cause overnight is a faulty appliance that's developed a ground fault — a fridge, washing machine, dishwasher or electric water heater that has failed internally and is tripping the RCD every time it cycles on. The temporary fix is to unplug all appliances from the affected circuits, attempt a reset, and plug them back one by one until the faulty one trips the circuit. If the RCD trips with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the wiring itself — which is more serious and needs immediate investigation. We walk you through this process on the phone in English and attend if the fault can't be isolated safely. For older Algarve villas with deteriorated wiring , a repeatedly tripping RCD overnight is often an early sign of a wiring installation that's failing and needs proper assessment in daylight.

Storm Damage to Electrical Installations — October to March

Storm damage to electrical installations is a specific emergency we deal with across the Algarve, particularly during the autumn and winter storm season between October and March. A lightning strike nearby causing a power surge that trips the consumer unit and damages appliances, a fallen tree or branch bringing down an overhead cable connection to the property, a storm that floods an external consumer unit or plant room causing a trip that won't reset, or exposed wiring discovered after a wall has been damaged by storm water — all of these are situations that can't safely wait until Monday morning. After any severe storm, if your property has lost power and the consumer unit won't reset, or if you've noticed any damage to external electrical fittings, cables or the main supply point — call us. We assess the situation over the phone and attend where needed. If there is any possibility of a live cable having been exposed or damaged by storm damage, keep people well away from the area until we arrive. If you believe the storm has damaged the main supply cable from the E-REDES network, also call E-REDES on 800 506 506 — they handle the supply network, we handle everything inside the property.

Power Failure the Night Before Guests Arrive — The Holiday Let Emergency

The most acutely stressful electrical emergency in the Algarve holiday let market is not a burning smell or a sparking socket — it's a property with no power and guests arriving the next morning. An owner in the UK at 11pm, a guest check-in at 10am, and a property manager with no English-speaking electrician to call. This scenario plays out dozens of times across the Algarve each season — in Albufeira apartment blocks where an overloaded consumer unit has finally failed mid-summer, in Vilamoura villas where a storm the previous night tripped the main isolator, in Portimão properties where a guest has inadvertently caused a fault. If you are managing a rental property in the Algarve and you receive this call tonight, call us on +351 923 224 340. We assess immediately in English, dispatch under emergency hours if the fault cannot be resolved over the phone, and carry out certified repairs that insurance will recognise. Save our number in your property information pack and give it to every guest. For property managers and concierge teams across Vilamoura, Albufeira and the wider Golden Triangle managing multiple properties, we can be set up as your standing emergency electrical contact — your properties on file, agreed protocols, direct response at any hour. For non-emergency faults discovered between bookings, see our general electrical repairs page for same-day service Monday to Friday.

What Does Not Constitute an Emergency — and What to Do Instead

We'd rather tell you that something can wait than have you spend an out-of-hours callout rate on a job that was fine until morning. These situations are not electrical emergencies and can be dealt with safely at the standard rate during working hours: a single dead socket or switch that has stopped working with no burning smell and no other symptoms; a light fitting that has failed in one room where other circuits are working normally; an AC unit that won't start or respond to the controller (almost always a controller, remote or refrigerant issue rather than an electrical fault); a socket that has stopped working after a heavy rainstorm and was near a window or external wall (allow it to dry completely before testing — if it then works, a weatherproofing issue is the cause); a smart home hub or Wi-Fi router that has lost power and won't restart (check the socket and consumer unit first). For all of these, call us Monday to Friday during working hours and we'll send someone same-day where possible. See our general electrical repairs page for standard fault diagnosis and repair across the Algarve.