Portland Metro Electric
Electrical Troubleshooting & Repair in Portland, OR
Dead outlets, tripping breakers, flickering lights: diagnosed and fixed, usually same-day, by licensed electricians. Open 24/7 for emergencies.
Oregon
Licensed
Washington
Licensed
CCB#
249412
Customer Testimonials
Yes, We Send an Electrician for One Outlet
An outlet died and took half the kitchen with it. A breaker trips and won’t reset. The lights flicker when the furnace starts. An outlet feels warm to the touch, or there’s a faint burning smell you can’t locate. And somewhere in the back of your mind: is this even big enough to call an electrician about?
It is, and it’s most of what we do. In the trade, these visits are called service calls: a licensed electrician comes out for the repairs and small installs that take less than a day, diagnoses on-site, and fixes it on the spot in most cases, because the vans arrive stocked. Emergencies are answered 24 hours a day, every day, and jump to the front of the line. For everything else, we tell you the real timeline when you call: often same-day or next-day, depending on where our crews are, and never a vague “sometime next week.” Small problems handled promptly are also how big problems get caught early: a warm outlet is a five-minute fix now and a fire investigation later.
If you see sparks, smell burning from an outlet or the panel, or hear buzzing from electrical equipment, treat it as an emergency: call us now at 503-863-7733, any hour. If there is open flame, call 911 first.
What a Service Call Costs
Here's how service-call pricing works, with no surprises:
- There’s a standard dispatch fee to get a licensed electrician and stocked van to your door.
- Once we diagnose, you get the repair price before any work starts. Most common repairs include (outlets, switches, single breakers, fixtures) cost about $300-$1,000+ (this price ranges heavily, so it’s best to give us a call.
- If diagnosis reveals a bigger underlying issue (a failing panel, old wiring), we tell you what we found, what’s urgent versus what can wait, and quote the larger work separately. You’ll never find it as a surprise on the invoice.
Outlet and Switch Repair
Outlets that stop working, feel warm, or grip plugs loosely, and switches that don't do what they should. Warmth or looseness usually means worn or loose connections behind the plate, which is a fire risk in slow motion, so we open it up, correct the wiring, and replace the device. You get working, cool-to-the-touch outlets and an honest read on whether one bad outlet is a one-off or a symptom.
Circuit Breaker Problems
Breakers that trip repeatedly, won't reset, or feel hot. A breaker is your circuit's automatic shutoff, and constant tripping means it's doing its job against a real problem: an overloaded circuit, a failing breaker, or a wiring fault. We diagnose which one it actually is instead of just resetting it, fix it, and if your home still has a fuse box, we can convert it to modern breakers (see our panel upgrade page).
Lighting Issues and Fixture Installation
Dim or flickering lights, dead fixtures, and new fixture installs, indoors and out. Flickering that follows a large appliance starting can indicate a loose neutral or an overloaded circuit, which are worth catching early, so we check the cause, not just the bulb. New fixtures go in wired, sealed where exterior, and tested.
Wiring Problems, Including Aluminum Wire Replacement
Damaged, exposed, or outdated wiring repaired or replaced. If your home was built or expanded in the 1960s or 70s it may have aluminum branch wiring, which expands and contracts more than copper and loosens at connections over time, a documented fire risk. We repair with the code-approved connectors made for it or replace runs with copper, and we tell you which your situation calls for.
GFCI and AFCI Installation and Repair
GFCIs (ground-fault circuit interrupters) cut power instantly if electricity finds a path through water or a person, and code requires them in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and outdoors. AFCIs (arc-fault circuit interrupters) detect the sparking inside walls that starts fires. We install, test, and replace both, bringing older rooms up to current protection.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector Installation
We install and hardwire smoke and CO detectors, replace expired units (detectors have a service life of about 10 years), and interconnect them so an alarm in one room sounds everywhere. Hardwired means powered by your electrical system with battery backup, so a dead battery never means a dead detector.
Ceiling Fan Installation and Repair
New fans installed on properly rated boxes (a standard light fixture box cannot safely hold a spinning fan, which is why DIY fans wobble), and wobbling or dead fans repaired.
How a Service Call Works
Describe the symptom; we'll tell you if it sounds urgent, give a price expectation for common repairs, and give you a real arrival window. Emergencies are dispatched 24/7; other repairs are often same-day or next-day depending on crew scheduling, and you'll know before you hang up.
A licensed electrician in a stocked van finds the actual cause, then gives you the repair price before working.
Because the vans are stocked, most repairs finish on the spot.
We test the repair, walk you through what was wrong and what we did, and confirm you're satisfied before we leave.
Electrical Service Call FAQs
Sparks, burning smells from outlets or the panel, buzzing equipment, a hot panel, or whole-home power loss with no utility outage. Call us at any hour for these. If anything is actively on fire, call 911 first.
Emergencies are dispatched around the clock, any day of the year, and go to the front of the line. For non-emergency repairs, availability depends on where our crews are that day: often same-day or next-day, and we give you the honest window when you call rather than an estimate we can’t keep.
No. Single outlets, one bad switch, a fixture swap: these visits are the core of what a service call is, and small symptoms are often how larger wiring problems announce themselves early. If it’s bugging you, it’s worth the call.
Frequent breaker trips, flickering or dimming lights, dead or warm outlets, unusual electrical noises or smells, or anything electrical behaving differently than it used to.
Yes. Every electrician is licensed for residential and commercial work in Oregon, and we’re licensed in Washington as well, bonded, and insured, CCB# 249412.
Always. You approve a written price after diagnosis, before repair. The dispatch fee is typically waived when you approve the work.
We can diagnose it and quote it on the spot; panel replacements are scheduled as their own visit so they’re done right, not rushed. Details on our panel upgrade page.
Test GFCI outlets monthly with their built-in test button, test smoke and CO detectors, and never ignore a warm outlet, a burning smell, or a breaker that keeps tripping. Those are the calls we’d rather get early.
For any other questions or to schedule an upgrade consultation, contact Portland Metro Electric. We’re here to ensure your electrical system is safe, efficient, and tailored to your needs.
One Call, a Real Price, and a Real Timeline
Call now or book online. Describe what’s happening and we’ll tell you what it likely is, what it likely costs, and exactly when we can be there, with emergencies dispatched any hour of any day.
Monday – Friday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday – Sunday By appointment only
24/7 Emergency Services avalible
Portland-metro SERVICE AREA
Serving Portland and the greater metro: Happy Valley, Milwaukie, Clackamas, Gladstone, West Linn, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Wilsonville, Tigard, Tualatin, Gresham, Damascus, Sandy, and surrounding areas, plus Vancouver, WA and Southwest Washington.
OFFICE
Head Office
Portland Metro Electric
8415 SE Hinkley Ave, Happy Valley, OR 97086
Ready to Restore Power or Upgrade Your Electrical?
Call us now, or fill out our contact form and one of our electrical experts will get in tough with you shorty. We will listen to your project needs or concerns and help guide you in the right direction. If the project is can be remotely estimated we can send you a personalized estimate within the next 24 hours.