Before requesting electrical service
If something is wrong right now
Use the urgency guidance below before arranging professional help.
Smoke, or a burning smell that is getting stronger: leave the building and call the fire service first. Everything else follows that.
A shock from anything: stop using it and arrange professional inspection today.
Buzzing at the panel, or anything warm there: switch off and arrange professional inspection.
What to have ready
Your address and whether anybody is on site.
What the sign is and when it started. "Warm outlet in the kitchen since Tuesday" is more useful than "electrical problem".
Whether you have switched anything off, and which.
And your main breaker rating and free panel spaces if the call is about an addition rather than a fault — three facts that let somebody answer on the phone rather than after a visit.
For quotes on planned work
Load questions are answerable in part before anybody visits, and knowing your service rating shortens the conversation considerably.
Chargers, generators and solar each have a short list of things to establish first, and each has a page.