In short
- Fire or smoke: get everyone out and call 9-1-1 from a mobile or a neighbour's phone (Ottawa Fire Services).
- Whole street dark: report it to Hydro Ottawa online, in its app, by texting OUT to 797688, or at (613) 738-0188.
- ESA says hot plugs or outlets and frequent trips point to overload or faulty wiring; contact a Licensed Electrical Contractor as soon as possible.
- After-hours work runs 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate, and some electricians bill a two- to four-hour minimum.
Typical prices in Ottawa
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Electrician hourly rate, Ottawa | $100–$160 | HomeStars Ottawa page; emergency service can add a fee |
| Short repair under a 2–4 hour emergency minimum | $300–$600 | Canada-wide guide |
| Diagnosis visit, after hours | $150–$300 | One Ottawa firm’s published list; $80–$150 in regular hours |
| Breaker replacement, after hours | $250–$450 | Same list; $150–$300 in regular hours |
| Emergency panel repair, after hours | $350–$750 | Same list; $200–$500 in regular hours |
| Service entrance repair, after hours | $500–$1,200 | Same list; $300–$800 in regular hours |
| ESA notification, residential minimum | $88 | ESA; rises with the work |
Sources. HomeStars, Electricians in Ottawa, cost section, seen 29.10.2026. HomeStars, Electrician Hourly Rate in Canada: 2026 Guide, seen 29.10.2026. One Ottawa firm’s published list: Emergency electrician guide, cost table, published 17.03.2026, seen 29.10.2026. ESA, How much does an electrical notification cost?, seen 29.10.2026. Safety and utility steps: Hydro Ottawa, Outage centre, Outage information, Outage safety and preparedness, Outdoor and power line safety, Electrical safety at home, Electrical service requests, all seen 29.10.2026. ESA, Homeowner Electrical Safety Handbook, Inside Your Home and ESA, Guideline for Residential Consumer’s Services Damaged During Emergencies, seen 29.10.2026. City of Ottawa, Fire safety in the home, seen 29.10.2026. Contracts: Ontario, guide for home renovation businesses, seen 29.10.2026.
Three calls, in this order
- 9-1-1 for flames, smoke or a power line on the ground. Ottawa Fire Services asks you to get everyone out, call from a mobile or a neighbour’s phone, and stay out. For a downed line, Hydro Ottawa adds: keep 10 metres from it and anything it touches, then call (613) 738-6400.
- Hydro Ottawa when the street is dark: online, in its app, by texting OUT to 797688, or at (613) 738-0188.
- An electrician for trouble on your side of the meter: a smell from the panel, a hot or charred outlet, sparks from a switch, half the house dead while the neighbours have lights.
Your street or your house
If the houses across the road are dark too, the fault is the utility’s. Hydro Ottawa’s map shows the cause, the customers affected and the expected restoration time when known.
The map leaves out momentary outages. When a branch or a squirrel causes a fault, Hydro Ottawa’s system reroutes power or trips a breaker, and lights may blink or electronics restart. A blink that clears belongs there; lights that keep dimming are on the flickering lights page.
If only your house is dark, or half of it, one Ottawa firm’s guide places the fault in the service entrance, the meter or the main breaker. The partial outage page covers the causes. Say in the request that the neighbours have power.
Smell, heat, sparks, sound: tonight or tomorrow
- Burning smell or buzzing. Hydro Ottawa links both to overheating or faulty wiring and says to unplug the appliance and have it checked. A smell from the panel, with nothing plugged in nearby, goes in a request marked Today.
- Hot plugs or outlets. ESA groups them with blowing fuses and frequent trips: overload or faulty wiring, a shock or fire hazard.
- A hot, loose or noisy switch. Hydro Ottawa: turn off its breaker and call an electrician.
- Dim or surging lights in several rooms. ESA says they can mean a loose connection in a circuit, a fixture or the service.
One Ottawa firm’s guide treats a breaker that keeps tripping, with no smell or sparks, as a regular-hours repair; see breaker keeps tripping. Weekday hours cost less.
Water near the panel
ESA’s handbook: keep out of the basement if water is above the outlets, baseboard heaters or furnace, or near the panel, and call the utility to disconnect power. A Licensed Electrical Contractor then checks the system and works with ESA so the utility can restore it. Say in the request how high the water reached.
Damage on the outside wall
After ice or high wind, the mast may be bent or the wires pulled loose. Hydro Ottawa owns the wires from the pole to the house; the mast, meter base and the wires to the panel are the owner’s. ESA’s guideline says a creased steel mast is left as it is and the utility cuts the supply. Hydro Ottawa reconnects after ESA confirms the repair, with someone home and the main breaker off. An ESA-approved temporary repair must be made permanent within 30 days. Details: service mast and meter base.
What an after-hours visit costs
HomeStars puts Ottawa electricians at about $100–$160 an hour and notes that emergency service can carry an extra fee. Its Canada-wide guide says the first hour runs $100–$200 because it covers travel and diagnosis, after-hours work costs 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate, and a two- to four-hour emergency minimum turns a 30-minute fix into $300–$600. The company that takes your request sets its own prices.
Make it safe tonight, finish it later
A night visit can end in two parts: the fault is made safe, then the full repair is booked. Ask for both priced separately. The written price should name the fault, the parts, the hours and rate, the ESA fee and HST.
Ontario requires a written agreement for work over $50, and the bill can exceed the estimate by 10% at most without a signed change. A contract signed at home carries a 10-day cooling-off period; if you ask the company to start and then cancel, it is owed reasonable payment for work and materials already supplied.
Who you are dealing with
Ottawa Electric Desk passes your request to one independent Ottawa electrical company. That company calls you back, agrees the visit and price with you, and does the work.
Questions to ask the company
- What is your after-hours call-out charge, and how many hours does it cover?
- If you make it safe tonight, what does the permanent repair cost, and when?
- Will you file the ESA notification, and is the fee in your price?
- If Hydro Ottawa must disconnect or reconnect, who arranges it?
- Can I have the price in writing, with parts, hours and HST on separate lines?
Have this ready for the call
- Which breakers are tripped, from a photo of the panel labels taken from a safe distance
- What you saw, heard or smelled, in which room, and when it started
- Whether the neighbours have power and the outage map shows your street
- Any water near the panel or outlets, and any sump pump or medical equipment that needs power
- Photos of scorch marks, a bent mast or wires pulled off the outside wall
Questions people ask
Should I call 911 or an electrician first?
Flames or smoke come first: get everyone out and call 9-1-1. A downed power line is also 9-1-1, then Hydro Ottawa at (613) 738-6400. The electrician comes once the scene is safe.
The whole street is dark. Will an electrician help?
A dark street is a Hydro Ottawa outage. Its outage map updates every 15 minutes with the cause and expected restoration time when known. Call an electrician afterwards only if something in the house was damaged.
An outlet smells hot but the breaker is on. Can it wait until morning?
ESA calls overheated plugs and outlets a shock and fire hazard and says to contact a Licensed Electrical Contractor as soon as possible. Unplug what is in it and send a request marked Today.
Do I pay the after-hours rate for the whole job?
It depends on the company. One Ottawa firm’s guide says a fault that needs a larger job, such as a new panel, is made safe for the night and the rest booked for the next available day. Ask which rate applies to each part.
Does a repair done at night still need an ESA notification?
ESA says almost all electrical work needs one, filed by whoever does the work. Ask for the Certificate of Acceptance once the repair passes.
