The cost of a London electrician depends on the job, the time of day, the size of the property, and the contractor you hire.
Below, you will find a 2026 guide on pricing for the most common jobs, explaining what pushes costs up and down, as well as information on commercial pricing.
Across the UK, the average electrician's hourly rate for standard domestic work sits between £45 and £65. In London, that rises considerably. London rates typically run between £60 and £90 per hour for qualified domestic work, and £80 to £100 or more for specialist, emergency, or commercial jobs.
The reason London is more expensive than the rest of the UK is straightforward. Operating costs are higher: congestion charges, parking, higher wages, and more expensive insurance. Longer travel times between jobs also feed into the rate a London contractor needs to charge to run a viable business.
That said, most electricians do not actually quote by the hour for smaller jobs. They quote a fixed price per job, which includes their labour, materials, and any certification costs. Hourly rates matter most for reactive call-outs and fault-finding work, where the scope is unknown upfront.
These are market rates for qualified, registered electricians. Anyone quoting significantly below the lower end of these ranges either is not NICEIC or NAPIT registered, is not properly insured, or will add the difference back in on materials.
Here is a practical breakdown of what common electrical jobs cost in London. These figures include labour and standard materials unless stated otherwise.
All prices are approximate and inclusive of VAT unless otherwise stated by the contractor. Always confirm with your electrician before work begins.
The figures above are starting points. Several factors move the final number up or down, sometimes significantly.
Older properties, particularly those built before the 1980s, often have wiring that complicates new work. Rubber-insulated cables, aluminium wiring, or consumer units without RCD protection can mean extra remedial work before a simple job can proceed.
An electrician adding a socket to a modern property with adequate circuits takes less time than the same job in a Victorian terrace, where the consumer unit needs upgrading first.
Chasing cables into walls, running new circuits through floors, or working in a property with limited loft access all add time and therefore cost.
If a job requires a second trade to make good plasterwork afterwards, that is a separate cost and is often not included in an electrician's quote unless explicitly stated.
Most notifiable electrical work requires an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), which confirms the work meets BS 7671 wiring regulations.
This is normally included in the quote by any registered electrician, but worth confirming. An EICR — the periodic inspection report for existing installations — is always a separate cost.
Emergency call-outs outside standard working hours carry a premium everywhere, and London is no exception. A fault that trips your consumer unit at 10pm on a Sunday will cost considerably more to fix than the same fault on a Tuesday afternoon.
Out-of-hours call-outs in London typically start at £90 to £130 per hour, with a minimum charge of £150 to £300 just for attendance.
Congestion charges, parking costs, and travel time all feed into rates for central London postcodes. Expect to pay at the higher end of any range for work in EC, WC, SW1, W1, or SE1.
Outer London boroughs — Croydon, Bromley, Enfield, Barking — tend to come in closer to the lower end.
Grouping electrical work is one of the most effective ways to reduce the cost per item. An electrician who travels to your property for a single socket installation will apply a minimum call-out charge regardless.
The same electrician doing six sockets, a light fitting, and a switch replacement in the same visit spreads that fixed overhead across all the work, reducing what each item effectively costs you.
Commercial electrical work is consistently priced higher than equivalent domestic work, and for legitimate reasons. Commercial installations carry stricter compliance requirements, more complex systems, often three-phase supplies, and higher liability for the contractor if something goes wrong.
Commercial EICRs in London cost 25 to 40% more than the national average, primarily because of higher operating costs for contractors working in the city. Central London premises may pay at the top end of or above the ranges above.
For facilities managers and property management companies handling multi-site portfolios, commercial electrical costs are most effectively managed through a planned maintenance contract rather than reactive call-outs.
A contractor who knows your sites, has agreed rates, and has documented your installation history will almost always cost less across a year than ad hoc emergency responses.
Understanding how a quote is put together helps you compare them accurately and avoid being caught out.
Most quotes for defined jobs will include labour and standard materials in a single fixed price. For larger or more complex jobs, materials may be itemised separately. Both approaches are normal, but the key is knowing which one you are looking at.
Watch out for quotes that do not mention:
Call-out charges: Some electricians include a call-out or minimum job fee on top of the quoted labour rate. A quote of £60 per hour with a £100 call-out charge is more expensive than £80 per hour with no call-out for any job under four hours.
VAT: Many sole-trader electricians are not VAT registered. Those who are will add 20% on top of the quoted figure. A £400 job with VAT is £480. Always confirm whether prices quoted include or exclude VAT.
Making good: If cables need to be chased into walls, the electrician's quote typically covers the electrical work but not the plastering or decorating required afterwards. This is a common source of surprise costs.
Certification fees: Registered electricians issue an EIC for notifiable work and may charge separately for this, typically £50 to £100. Confirm upfront.
Materials mark-up: Some electricians quote labour only and charge materials at cost plus a mark-up, often 10 to 20%. Others quote an all-in fixed price. Neither is wrong, but you need to know which applies.
A few practical things to check before you agree to any electrical work:
The electrician should be registered with a competent person scheme: NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA are the main ones. This means their work is self-certified under Part P of the Building Regulations without requiring a separate building control application. Ask to see their registration number and verify it on the scheme's online register.
For any notifiable work like new circuits, consumer unit replacement, work in bathrooms, or anything that alters the fixed wiring, you should receive an Electrical Installation Certificate on completion. If an electrician is not offering this, that is a significant warning sign.
Get more than one quote for any job over £300. Not because the cheapest is necessarily wrong, but because the spread of quotes will tell you where the market sits and flag any outliers worth questioning.
Some electrical issues cannot wait for three quotes and a convenient appointment, cases like:
The same applies in commercial environments. A distribution board fault in a restaurant, a power outage in a retail unit, or a tripped RCD in an office, these have immediate operational and financial consequences.
The cost of an out-of-hours call-out, while higher, is almost always less than the cost of several hours of lost trading or a damaged supply.
Electrician costs in London in 2026 sit meaningfully above the national average, and that gap exists for real reasons rather than London premium pricing for its own sake. Operating in the city costs more, and a qualified, insured, registered electrician needs to reflect that in their rates.
For most jobs, the range in this guide gives you a reliable starting point. Group work where you can, confirm what is and is not included in any quote, and do not let price be the only filter. A Cheap quote that misses VAT, call-out fees, and certification costs is not actually cheaper.
For commercial properties and larger portfolios, the most cost-effective approach is always planned maintenance over reactive spend. The numbers are consistently better, and the compliance paper trail is cleaner.
FS Group provides emergency electrical call-outs across London and the South East, covering both residential and commercial properties. If you need an electrician urgently or want to discuss planned electrical maintenance for a commercial site, call us on 0800 689 3497 or get in touch online.
