Score
Carnahan Electric reviews
• updated APR 10, 2026Loading map...
The Verdict
We found a contractor whose technicians are skilled but whose billing practices will make you regret the call. The work itself? Generally solid. In one review, an electrician diagnosed flickering lights on a pre-holiday Friday and found a loose connection that had stumped the homeowner. Another customer described a whole-house generator installation that's run seamlessly for years, switching over so smoothly the computer doesn't even reboot. But five separate reviews describe the same nightmare: being hit with surprise fees, minimum charges that weren't disclosed upfront, or refusals to fix mistakes without paying another service call. One homeowner watched an electrician disconnect working exterior lights, then was told he'd need to pay $90 just to have someone come back and reconnect what had been functional before the visit. When customers pushed back, responses ranged from dismissive to openly rude. You're not hiring an unreliable crew. You're hiring people who do competent work but treat billing transparency like an optional courtesy.
If you want an electrician who'll show up fast and solve the problem, Carnahan can do that. But if you expect clear pricing before the work starts or goodwill fixes when mistakes happen, look elsewhere.
3 Stories That Stood Out
Dogglover T. called Carnahan Electric to troubleshoot exterior lighting at their home and got a same-week visit from a tech named Pete. At first the job looked straightforward, but that night they discovered several exterior lights that had been working when Pete arrived were no longer functioning. When they called back, Pete acknowledged he had changed the timer and then told them he would only return to correct his work if they paid an additional $90 service fee. They asked him to check with the owner; John, the owner, gave the same answer — a minimum $90 to come back out. Faced with lights left nonfunctional and a refusal to fix those changes without another charge, they now have to hire a different electrician to undo what Carnahan altered. The moment that stands out is not the quick arrival but that the crew left the system worse than it was and insisted on another bill before making it right.
Pam L. called from her El Dorado Hills home when three outlets stopped working. She explained the problem and a technician replaced one outlet but couldn’t wire it correctly. The crew never disclosed a $250 two-hour minimum, yet she was billed $260 for a job that took about ten minutes and required no parts — and no receipt was provided to explain the extra ten dollars. She phoned three times trying to get the charge corrected; after persistent follow-up they refunded only $10. She ended up with a short, costly repair, no clear paperwork, and a feeling that the company handled the billing and customer service poorly — a $260 bill and a $10 refund were the concrete takeaway.
Sarah S. found herself scrambling to cool a small studio because her cat had been attacked and needed a quiet, comfortable place to recover. She had a portable air conditioner ready, but none of the outlets were grounded, so the unit couldn’t be used. After her husband phoned five companies and learned each couldn’t come for at least a week, she tried a few more numbers and Carnahan Electric actually answered the phone and arranged to send a tech that afternoon. The technician called a few hours later to set a time, showed up on schedule, inspected the situation, and proposed a plug-based solution that would let the AC run safely without opening walls or doing full grounding work. He offered to install it right then; the job took under an hour and the bill was about $90. What stuck with her was the same-day response and the affordable, noninvasive fix that solved an immediate, stressful problem.
Platforms Monitored
Performance by Work Type
How We Got To Trust Score 73
Clean Record
Unauthorized Activities
Passed screening
Misleading Claims
Passed screening
Background Check
Serving customers for 13 years
Among the longest-standing installers in the market.
BBB Rating: A+
Excellent BBB standing. Strong complaint resolution.
Natural Review Patterns
Reviews were posted naturally over time.
What You Can Expect
Bob had already trusted Carnahan Electric once before, when they installed a transfer switch and generator connection box at his home in Diamond Springs and built a 10-foot cable to tie his generator in. More than a decade later, when he moved the generator far enough away that the original cable no longer reached, he went back looking for a longer one and ended up getting an unexpectedly honest answer. Nate steered him to a $50 cable on Amazon instead of pushing a custom build through Carnahan, a small gesture that made the company feel less like a contractor and more like a neighbor looking out for the community’s wallet. That kind of follow-through, eleven years after the original job, is what stood out here: the installation held up, and the service later was still focused on solving the problem in the cheapest practical way.
Heidi’s new home in Placerville came with an awkward electrical setup: a mix of old and updated wiring, plus a PG&E service line stretched across a busy street and hanging lower than today’s safety code allows. When PG&E first tried to put the cost of rerouting the wire mostly on her, Jim Strauss from Carnahan Electric stepped in and pushed back hard, working through a months-long back-and-forth until she ended up with a much smaller share of the expense. After Carnahan finished installing the higher receiver on her house and the job wrapped up, Nate followed up the next morning just to check that everything was working and she was satisfied. That extra mile with PG&E—and the post-job call the very next day—was what made the experience stand out.
Liz s. had been a long-time customer who'd called the company for work many times and trusted them to do a solid job. After a recent service she discovered the invoice was inflated, so she pressed them twice; each time staff promised to correct it and they did issue an adjustment, but the corrected bill still ended up about twice what it should have been. When she rang back to point that out an employee dismissed her, told her to pay what she thought fair, and then hung up. Unwilling to keep fighting or deal with the rude person on the phone, she paid the last invoice but included a note saying she would no longer use or refer the company. The clear takeaway: a repeat customer walked away over an overcharge and a curt, dismissive response.
William H. had Carnahan Electric install a whole-house backup generator for his Pollock Pines home several years ago and discovered it has worked flawlessly since. When the grid drops, the generator kicks in with almost no pause—enough that his computer only needs a quick reboot and then runs as if nothing happened; he only notices when the rest of the lights come back on. After a different contractor replaced the furnace and left a wiring problem that kept the heater from running, Carnahan came back out, re-wired the system, and got the heat working again. What stuck with him most was their response: they arrived within an hour despite the snowy, not-easy drive from Shingle Springs. He’s glad he spent the money on a whole-house unit and wishes he hadn’t waited so long; he even left his contact at billzz4321@att.net.
Performance Heating & A/C Inc leaned on Carnahan for electrical work and came away impressed by the company’s practical know‑how. They found the technicians experienced and capable of getting the job done efficiently. Crews arrived on schedule, worked professionally, and completed the electrical tasks without fuss. The experience left them grateful that Carnahan could reliably handle their electrical needs — a partner they’d call on again for future jobs.
Pam L. called from her El Dorado Hills home when three outlets stopped working. She explained the problem and a technician replaced one outlet but couldn’t wire it correctly. The crew never disclosed a $250 two-hour minimum, yet she was billed $260 for a job that took about ten minutes and required no parts — and no receipt was provided to explain the extra ten dollars. She phoned three times trying to get the charge corrected; after persistent follow-up they refunded only $10. She ended up with a short, costly repair, no clear paperwork, and a feeling that the company handled the billing and customer service poorly — a $260 bill and a $10 refund were the concrete takeaway.
W M B. ended up leaning on this company during a recent massive storm when the Generac system failed and the house needed backup power fast. Even with a packed schedule, they squeezed the job in and got everything running again with very little downtime, the kind of response that matters most when the weather has already knocked one system offline.
Jeff called them when his lights began flickering on the Friday before a holiday. The crew showed up, discovered the culprit was a loose connection, and handled the situation with clear expertise and professionalism. He left relieved that a single, identifiable fault had been found and dealt with promptly despite the timing — the technician turning up on a holiday eve is what he remembers most.
L. R. called the company for an electrical service and ended up with a $210 charge for two hours of labor, even though the electrician was on site for under ninety minutes. They found the tech arrogant and unfriendly, which made the short visit notably unpleasant. Frustrated by being billed for more time than was spent, they walked away determined not to use the company again — a sharp reminder to check billing practices and expect professional behavior on any service call.
Long-term Satisfaction
Long-term satisfaction for Carnahan Electric drops to 4.0 ★ compared to early reviews. This is better than 49% of installers we looked at.
Long-term reviews carry the most weight in our methodology because they are most representative of what you should be paying for: a system that will perform for years.