Emergency Electrician London Callout Prices 2026 — Day/Night Rates

Daytime (08:00-18:00 weekdays) emergency callout: £120-180 first hour, £75-110 each subsequent hour. This is the rate for same-day attendance within 2-4 hours.

Evening (18:00-22:00 weekdays + weekends): £160-240 first hour, £95-140 each subsequent hour.

Night (22:00-06:00): £200-320 first hour, £120-180 each subsequent hour.

Bank holiday rates match night rates regardless of clock time. Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day typically add a further 50% premium.

Total power loss to the property — RCD/main switch keeps tripping, cut-out fuse blown, supply lost.

Burning smell or visible damage near consumer unit or sockets — immediate fire risk.

Tripped RCD on a circuit serving freezer/medical equipment — time-sensitive.

Tripped RCD on a circuit serving heating in winter where the property has vulnerable occupants (elderly, very young, medical conditions).

Live exposed conductor — broken socket, damaged cable, exposed wires after DIY work.

One light not working in the kitchen (other lights are fine).

Outside socket on the patio not working in mid-July.

Garage power lost but house power fine.

EV charger not starting (use a public charger overnight).

Underfloor heating not working in spring/autumn.

All of these are 'next working day' jobs, not emergencies. Booking a £180 emergency callout for a non-urgent issue wastes money — booking a £75 next-day visit gets the same fix at half the cost.

Ask the operator three questions before booking: 'What's your first-hour rate including ULEZ and travel?', 'What's your subsequent-hour rate?', 'Will you provide a written invoice on completion?'

If the answer to any is vague or 'we'll work it out on site', use someone else. Honest emergency contractors quote on the phone.

Cash-only operators are red flags. Card or bank transfer should always be an option in 2026.

ETA matters — a 'we'll be there in 45 minutes' followed by a 3-hour wait is common with overbooked operators. Ask for the engineer's name and direct number.

Three things drive the bill from £180 to £600+: parts, labour overrun, and 'further investigation' time.

Parts — a new RCBO is £25-40 trade, marked up to £50-80 retail. A consumer unit replacement at 2am is £950-1,400. Most callouts need £40-150 in parts.

Labour overrun — first hour £180, but the average emergency callout runs 1.5-2 hours. Realistic total: £270-420.

Further investigation — if the first fix doesn't hold, the engineer may need to test additional circuits. Adds 0.5-1 hour at the hourly rate.

Realistic 2am callout total: £350-550. Genuine emergencies are worth it; non-emergencies you can defer until morning are not.