24/7 emergency electrician for Pinellas and Pasco
Burning smell, sparks, a hot panel or half the house without power? Call (727) 430-1764. A person answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Tailwind Electric is owned by James Booth, Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13016047, with more than 20 years in the trade. Repairs carry a 5-year, 100% parts and labor warranty.
Fire, smoke or someone hurt? Call 911 first. Get everyone out of the house, then call us.
Power line down? Stay away from it and call Duke Energy. Duke's own advice is to "assume all downed lines are energized."
For everything else, call (727) 430-1764. A person answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Tailwind Electric is a 24/7 emergency electrician based at 1327 Illinois Ave in Palm Harbor, working across Pinellas County and nearby Pasco. Owner James Booth holds Florida Certified Electrical Contractor license EC13016047 and has more than 20 years in the trade. Night, weekend or storm day, the phone at (727) 430-1764 is answered by a person, not a voicemail box.
- 24/7A person answers, nights and weekends
- EC13016047Florida Certified Electrical Contractor
- 5 years100% parts and labor on repairs (10 years on panel replacements)
- 5.0 ★20 Google reviews (1 Nov 2026)
When should I call an emergency electrician?
Call right away when you can see, smell or hear electricity doing something it should not: a burning smell, sparks, a hot or buzzing panel, scorched outlets, or a part of the house that has lost power while the neighbors still have it. Anything that has been under water also counts. These are the situations where waiting until morning can turn a repair into a fire or a much bigger job.
- Burning smell, smoke or scorch marks from an outlet, switch, light or the panel.
- Sparks or arcing when something is plugged in or a switch is flipped.
- Half the house is dead, or lights get brighter and dimmer on their own. This can point to a loose neutral or a failing connection.
- A breaker that trips again as soon as you reset it, or one that will not reset at all.
- Water in or near the panel, outlets or equipment, after a leak, a storm or flooding.
What to do before the electrician arrives
Find your situation in the first column. The middle columns say what to do and what not to do while you wait, and the last column says what to tell us when you call. Each row also shows who to call first.
| Your situation | Do this now | Don't | Tell us when you call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call 911 Smoke, flames or a strong burning smell | Get everyone out. Call 911. Only if you can reach the panel safely, switch off the main breaker on the way out. | Don't throw water on an electrical fire or stay inside to find the source. | Where the smell or smoke started, and what was running at the time. |
| Call Duke first A power line is down, or the service wires to the house are pulled loose after a storm | Keep everyone, including pets, well away. Report it to Duke Energy. | Don't touch the line, anything it rests on, or water it is lying in. | Whether the weatherhead, mast or meter can on your house is damaged. We repair those once Duke has made the line safe. |
| Call us now An outlet or switch sparked, is scorched or feels hot | Unplug what you can without touching the outlet. Switch off that circuit's breaker. | Don't keep using it to "see if it does it again". | Which room, what was plugged in, and whether other outlets on the wall stopped working. |
| Call us now Part of the house is dead, but the neighbors have power | Check the panel for a tripped breaker and reset it once. Note which lights and outlets are out. | Don't keep resetting a breaker that trips again. Don't run extension cords from the working side. | Which rooms are out, and whether any lights are flickering or brighter than normal. |
| Call Duke first The whole street is dark | It is most likely a utility outage. Report it to Duke Energy and switch off large appliances. | Don't plug a portable generator into a wall outlet or dryer outlet to power the house. | If your power does not come back with the neighbors', call us. The fault may be on your side. |
| Call us now The panel, outlets or equipment got wet | Stay out of standing water. If you can reach the main breaker from a dry spot, switch it off. | Don't reset breakers or turn wet equipment back on. | How high the water got and what was under it: panel, outlets, water heater, pool equipment. |
| Call us today One breaker keeps tripping, or the water heater keeps losing power | Leave that breaker off and use the rest of the house as normal. | Don't swap in a bigger breaker or tape a breaker on. | What the circuit feeds and when it trips: at start-up, under load or at random. |
Sources: Duke Energy, outages and downed lines and Electrical Safety Foundation International, flooding and disaster safety, which says "any equipment exposed to water must be inspected by qualified professionals before being returned to service."
Is it Duke's problem or yours?
A quick way to tell: look at your neighbors. If the whole street is dark, it is usually a utility outage and Duke Energy Florida, which serves most of Pinellas, restores it. If your neighbors have power and you do not, or only part of your home is out, the problem is usually on your side of the meter, in the panel, the wiring or the service equipment on the house. That is our work.
After a storm it can be both. Duke may need to disconnect and reconnect while we repair storm damage to a weatherhead, service mast, meter can or the connection lugs. We coordinate that with the utility. If you run a portable generator during an outage, see our page on interlocks and transfer switches for the safe way to connect one.
What happens when you call at night
- A person answers at (727) 430-1764, any hour, and asks what you are seeing, smelling or hearing, and where.
- We tell you what to do in the meantime, such as which breaker to switch off, whether to leave the house or whether it is a Duke call first.
- On site, we make it safe first: isolate the faulty circuit or equipment so the rest of the house can stay on where possible.
- Then you hear what we found and the options. James explains the cause and what the fix will take before the repair starts. Larger jobs, like a panel replacement after a melted breaker, are permitted and inspected.
Emergency repairs from our reviews
These are real jobs from Tailwind Electric's Google reviews, described the way the customers described them.
Melted breaker, and a loose A/C wire
James found a melted breaker in the panel and replaced the panel. During the job he also found a loose wire on the A/C breaker of a unit installed that year.
"He showed us the issue, (melted breaker) explained what needed to be done." — Nancy B., Google
Burnt water heater disconnect
A water heater stopped working because its quick disconnect box had burnt. James found it, repaired it and checked everything was safe.
"He quickly identified and repaired a burnt quick disconnect box on our water heater." — Joshua D., Google
Water heater problem that was really a breaker
The water heater was not the fault. A faulty breaker was. James showed the homeowners the failed part, replaced the breaker and tested it before leaving.
"He took the time to walk us through exactly what was wrong and showed us visually." — Mark L., Google
A fault that was "no small job"
An electrical problem that took real diagnosis, found and fixed.
"He was able to resolve it quickly - and it was no small job." — Valarie W., Google
All 20 reviews are on our Google listing and reviews page.
What we repair on an emergency call
Most emergency calls end up as one of these jobs. Each has its own page with more detail:
- Troubleshooting dead circuits
- Breaker repair
- Sparking or dead outlets
- Panel replacement
- Service and meter can repair
- Damaged or overheated wiring
- Standby generator failures
- Surge damage and protection
- Pool and hot tub power
- Water heater circuits
Where we answer emergency calls
From Palm Harbor we cover Pinellas County and nearby Pasco. These town pages have the local permit details:
- Palm Harbor
- St. Petersburg
- Clearwater
- Dunedin
- Largo
- Tarpon Springs
- Oldsmar
- Safety Harbor
- New Port Richey
Emergency electrician questions
Can you get an emergency electrician?
Yes. Tailwind Electric answers (727) 430-1764 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including nights, weekends and storm days, across Pinellas County and nearby Pasco. A person answers and tells you what to do while you wait.
When should I call an emergency electrician?
Call right away for a burning smell, sparks, a hot or buzzing panel, scorched outlets, water in electrical equipment, or part of the house losing power while the neighbors still have it. If there is smoke or fire, get out and call 911 first.
How much is a call out for an electrician?
It depends on what is wrong and what it takes to make it safe. James explains what he found and what the repair will cost before he starts, and tells you what could change the price. Every repair carries a 5-year, 100% parts and labor warranty, and panel replacements carry 10 years.
What electrical work can be done without a permit in Florida?
It depends on the job and on your city or county building department, which sets and enforces the permit rules. In an emergency we make the hazard safe first. Where the permanent repair needs a permit, such as a panel or service replacement, we pull it under license EC13016047 and book the inspection.
Should I call Duke Energy or an electrician?
If the whole street is out or a power line is down, call Duke Energy first. If your neighbors have power and you don't, or only part of your home is out, call an electrician. After a storm you may need both: Duke for the line and us for damage on the house side.
Tailwind Electric · Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13016047
1327 Illinois Ave, Palm Harbor, FL 34683 · Open 24 hours, 7 days
Phone: (727) 430-1764 · Email: tailwindelectric@gmail.com · Google Maps · Request service
Call 24/7: (727) 430-1764