Know What’s Urgent — And When Your Utility Fixes It Free.
Use our 60-second electrical symptom checker below to protect your home immediately, see whether Austin Energy, Oncor, PEC, Bluebonnet, or Georgetown Utility Systems owns the repair, or book a licensed DC Electric troubleshooter.
Don't take our word for it.
60-Second Electrical Emergency & Utility Outage Triage
Select what your home is doing right now. Get plain-English safety steps — including an honest check on whether your local electric utility fixes the problem at $0 utility cost before you hire an electrician.
Turn off that circuit breaker immediately — do not plug anything back in.
Electrical outlets, switches, and breaker housings are molded from heat-resistant thermoset plastics. When a loose wire lug, backstabbed receptacle, or failing breaker begins arcing, those polymers release a distinct acrid plastic or "dead fish" odor before visible smoke appears.
- If you see active smoke or flame, evacuate everyone (and pets) immediately and call 911 from outside.
- If there is no smoke, go to your breaker panel and switch OFF the breaker controlling that room or appliance. If the main panel itself smells hot or buzzes loudly, shut off the Main Breaker only if the panel cover is cool to the back of your hand.
- Never touch a scorched metal outlet screw or wet floor, and do not flip an overheating breaker back ON "just to test it."
Utility crews cannot repair interior outlets or branch breakers. A licensed electrician should open the box, cut back heat-damaged copper insulation, and torque a commercial-grade replacement.
Read full Burning/Fishy Smell Safety Guide →One of your two 120V power legs is out — check your utility before paying an electrician.
Every Austin home receives two 120V hot legs (240V total) from the utility transformer. When one leg drops, roughly half of your 120V lights/outlets go dark and 240V appliances (central AC, electric dryer, oven, EV charger) stop running—even though no breaker looks tripped.
- Turn OFF your central AC thermostat and unplug sensitive 240V equipment so a partial-voltage leg does not damage compressor windings.
- Call your electric utility outage line below FIRST and report "partial power / dropped leg." Over half the time in Central Texas storms or heatwaves, the loose lug is on the utility pole or pad transformer — and your utility repairs their side at $0 cost to you.
- If your utility tests the meter and confirms full 240V arriving at the meter base, the failure is customer-side (corroded meter jaws or a failed main breaker) — call DC Electric and we will take it from there.
We never want an Austin neighbor paying a service fee for a utility-owned pole splice. Always let Austin Energy, Oncor, PEC, Bluebonnet, or GUS verify their drop first.
Explore Customer-Side Main Breaker & Meter Repairs →Brightening lights signal a dangerous loose neutral — protect electronics today.
A brief 1-second dip when a 4-ton AC compressor starts can be normal inrush current (often cured with an AC soft-start). However, if lights in one room get noticeably BRIGHTER while lights elsewhere dim when a microwave, toaster, or hair dryer runs, your 120V legs are unbalanced due to a failing neutral connection.
- Unplug expensive electronics, OLED TVs, and countertop appliances on affected circuits — a floating neutral can send 145V–170V into a 120V outlet and fry control boards.
- If overhead tree limbs rub your backyard power drop (common in Tarrytown, Hyde Park, Barton Hills & Travis Heights), ask your utility to check their overhead neutral splice while scheduling an inspection of your main panel neutral bus.
- If flickering happens ONLY on one dimmer switch with LED bulbs, it is safe — usually an incompatible legacy dimmer rather than a loose neutral.
We test voltage under load at both the meter and main panel busbar so we pinpoint whether the loose neutral is inside your panel or out at the utility tap.
Read Austin Flickering Lights Diagnostic Guide →High-failure breakers and oxidized aluminum splices look normal until overloaded.
Homes built across Austin between 1950 and 1982 frequently still carry Federal Pacific Electric (FPE Stab-Lok) or Zinsco / Sylvania panels—documented for failing to trip during overloads—or 1965–1976 single-strand aluminum branch wiring that expands and loosens at brass outlet screws.
- Do not pry off the dead-front metal inner cover yourself, and avoid running space heaters or high-draw EV adapters on legacy FPE/Zinsco circuits.
- Look at the inside door label: red-tipped breakers or "Stab-Lok" indicate Federal Pacific; pastel blue/pink/green vertical handles indicate Zinsco.
- Schedule a pressure-free evaluation. We replace high-failure hazard panels in one coordinated day (backed by our 10-year panel warranty) and perform CPSC-recognized AlumiConn torque-verified remediation.
Replacing an FPE or Zinsco panel also resolves the #1 red flag on Texas homeowners insurance renewals and TREC real estate option-period inspections.
See Same-Day FPE & Zinsco Replacement Details →Your GFCI or AFCI is doing its job — trace moisture or hidden upstream resets.
After heavy Central Texas storms, wind-driven rain enters aging exterior bubble covers, holiday lighting cords, or pool/patio boxes. A single garage or bathroom GFCI receptacle often protects 4–8 downstream outlets across the house.
- Unplug every cord from outdoor patio, soffit, garage, and landscape outlets first.
- Check garage walls, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and exterior walls for a tripped TEST/RESET receptacle. Press RESET firmly with dry hands only after unplugging wet outdoor cords.
- If water is dripping INTO your main breaker panel or meter can, stand clear of wet concrete and call immediately — water inside a live busbar corrodes breaker jaws and can arc.
We upgrade leaky flat exterior flaps to NEC-compliant weather-resistant (WR) GFCI receptacles with heavy-duty weatherproof in-use covers.
Explore Weatherproof GFCI & Outlet Repairs →Count the beeps: 4 rapid beeps means Carbon Monoxide; 1 chirp means battery/age.
Hardwired 120V smoke and carbon monoxide alarms communicate interconnected alerts across every bedroom and hallway. Knowing the beep pattern tells you in seconds whether you have a life-safety emergency or an expired 10-year sensor.
- 4 rapid beeps, pause, 4 rapid beeps: Active Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarm. Move everyone outside to fresh air immediately and call 911 — CO is odorless and invisible.
- 3 loud beeps, pause, 3 loud beeps: Smoke/fire alarm trigger (or heavy steam/attic dust inside an aging sensing chamber). Verify no fire or hot electrical smell first.
- 1 single chirp every 30–60 seconds: Low backup battery OR end-of-life timer. NFPA 72 requires replacing every smoke/CO unit every 10 years because sensors lose sensitivity.
We replace aging chirping alarms house-wide in one visit with interconnected 120V photoelectric smoke + CO units carrying sealed 10-year lithium backups.
See Whole-Home 10-Year Smoke & CO Replacement →Greater Austin Utility vs. Homeowner Responsibility Guide
During storms or partial outages, homeowners often waste hours calling the wrong number. Here is the exact ownership line across Central Texas electric utilities.
| Electrical Component | Who Owns & Repairs It | What Austin Homeowners Should Know |
|---|---|---|
| Street Pole Transformer & Overhead Service Drop Wires | Electric Utility ($0 Utility Repair) | Austin Energy, Oncor, PEC, Bluebonnet, or GUS owns the pole, transformer, and overhead wires up to the splice drips at your roofline weatherhead. |
| Underground Pad Transformer & Lateral Feed to Meter | Electric Utility (Usually Utility-Side) | In most underground Greater Austin subdivisions, the utility maintains the primary pad transformer and service lateral up to the meter base lugs (rules vary slightly by co-op tariff). |
| Plug-In Smart Electric Meter Glass/Module Itself | Electric Utility | The digital smart meter module belongs to your utility; only utility personnel or authorized TECL electricians under a disconnect permit may pull the meter tag. |
| Weatherhead, Roof Service Mast, Conduit & Guy-Wire Anchor | Homeowner (Licensed TECL Electrician) | If a falling oak limb rips the metal mast pipe, weatherhead, or meter can off your brick/siding, the utility cannot reconnect power until a licensed electrician rebuilds and permits the mast. |
| Meter Socket Jaws / Meter Can Enclosure & Exterior Disconnect | Homeowner (Licensed TECL Electrician) | Pitted, heat-burned copper meter jaws inside the metal box are homeowner equipment. Replacing the meter base requires a city/utility permit and utility disconnect coordination. |
| Main Breaker Panel, Subpanels, Ground Rods & All Interior Wiring | Homeowner (Licensed TECL Electrician) | Everything from the meter load lugs inward — main breaker, busbar, surge protection, dual copper ground rods, GFCI/AFCI breakers, outlets, and lighting — is protected and repaired by DC Electric. |
Common Austin electrical emergency & utility questions
Half my house has power and my AC won’t turn on — should I call Austin Energy / Oncor / PEC or an electrician first?
A tree limb pulled the power mast off my roof — who fixes what?
Why does an overheating outlet or breaker smell like fish?
Does DC Electric offer 24/7 emergency electrical service?
Confirmed it’s inside your panel, meter base, or home wiring?
Book online 24/7 or call 512.954.4782. A background-checked, licensed DC Electric technician diagnoses the root cause and gives you a firm written price before work begins.