Published by JSR Electrical for Mackay homeowners. Not legal advice. Electrical and gas work must be carried out by appropriately licensed tradespeople. This page was not reviewed by a named individual expert.
Electricity faults are often invisible until heat, smell, repeated trips or a shock make them obvious. The Electrical Safety Office (ESO) treats shocks and tingles as serious. This guide helps Mackay households choose a safe next step — not a DIY diagnosis.
Smoke, flames or sparks: leave and call 000. Shock or tingle from a tap or metal fitting: stay clear of the switchboard and contact Ergon Energy on 13 16 70 in the Mackay region (ESO distributor table). Smell of gas: avoid sparks, leave if unsafe, call emergency services / your gas emergency line.
Signs you can notice without tools
- Burning smell, buzzing, or a power point/switch that is hot or discoloured
- Safety switch or breaker that trips again after one careful reset
- Lights that flicker or dim on one circuit
- Shock or tingle from an appliance
- Shock or tingle from a tap, sink or other metal fitting
- Gas smell near appliances or meters (treat as gas emergency, not an electrical tweak)
What ESO says about shocks and tingles
ESO: if you feel a shock or tingle from an appliance or metal fitting such as a tap, contact your electricity distributor immediately. Stay well clear and warn others. Do not assume a ‘small zap’ is static. Seek medical advice after any electric shock.
For Mackay and most regional Queensland, the distributor listed by ESO for ‘rest of Queensland’ is Ergon Energy — 13 16 70, 24 hours.
Nuisance tripping — one reset, then stop
ESO describes a careful check: unplug appliances on the circuit, reset once, then plug items back in one at a time. If the switch trips again, leave it off and get a licensed electrician. Repeated resetting can hide a dangerous fault.
When to call JSR
After emergencies are handled, residential fault-finding in Mackay or commercial electrical support can investigate trips, heat and wiring issues. For after-hours critical power loss call (07) 4863 0508. Request a quote for non-emergency work.
Sources
Heat and smell are fire precursors
Loose connections and overloaded conductors convert electrical energy into heat. That heat can sit inside a wall cavity long before paint discolours. A faint burning odour near a power point, a warm faceplate, crackling, or brown scorch marks are enough reason to stop using the outlet and call a licensed electrician. If the smell is strong, spreading, or paired with visible smoke, leave and call 000. Never throw water on an electrical fire.
Power boards and double adaptors stacked behind entertainment units are a frequent overload pattern. Unplug non-essential loads if you can do so safely from a dry position, but do not dismantle fixed wiring.
Flicker is information — until it is not
Occasional flicker during a storm may be network-related. Flicker that tracks a particular circuit, worsens when the air-conditioner starts, or arrives with buzzing at the board deserves a booked investigation. Escalate immediately if flicker coincides with heat, burning smell or shocks.
Appliance versus installation
ESO’s step-through for nuisance trips helps separate a faulty toaster from a wiring fault: unplug, reset once, reintroduce loads one by one. A single appliance that trips the RCD whenever it is connected should be labelled and kept out of service until checked. If the circuit trips with everything unplugged, the installation itself needs a licensed electrician.
Commercial sites add exit/emergency lighting and test-and-tag duties — see commercial electrical services in Mackay if the warning signs are in a workplace rather than a dwelling.
After the emergency
Once people are safe and distributors or emergency services have done their part, document what you observed (time, room, smell, which breaker moved). That note shortens diagnosis. Then book follow-up repairs so the temporary isolation does not become a permanent unsafe workaround.
Regional and rural properties on the Ergon network should keep the 13 16 70 number saved. ESO’s shocks-and-tingles page lists Energex for south-east Queensland and other distributors for specific pockets; Mackay homes generally fall under Ergon. If you are travelling and unsure, the ESO page is the authoritative lookup.
Writing a useful call-out brief
When you phone an electrician after a warning sign, lead with safety status (is anyone hurt, is the smell ongoing, is the switch left off), then location, then what changed just before the symptom. That order gets the right priority. Avoid resetting breakers repeatedly while you wait — ESO’s leave-it-off advice exists because energy faults can escalate.
If the event involved water on electrical equipment, say so explicitly. Water damage changes isolation and drying requirements before re-energisation.