Family-owned · Since 1972 · 53 Years in the Lowcountry

Charleston storms don't wait. Neither do we.

Three generations of electricians, one Romney Street shop, and a phone line that's been ringing on the peninsula since Nixon was president. Residential, commercial, panel upgrades, EV chargers, generators — and 24/7 storm response when the Lowcountry needs it.

Serving since 1972
Projects completed 500+
Lowcountry crew 18 electricians
Industry awards 11
STORM-READY 24/7 · Power out, line down, panel sparking? · Call (843) 722-8304 now →

Three generations · Licensed & insured · Lowcountry born

Est. 1972 Family-Owned 11× Awarded Storm-Ready
What we do

Every wire, panel & circuit in the Lowcountry.

From a flickering breaker after a thunderstorm to a full EV-charger install on a new build, our crew handles it. Honest diagnosis, transparent pricing, code-compliant work that holds up to Charleston humidity, salt air & storm seasons.

Residential Electrical

Whole-home rewires, dedicated circuits, ceiling fans, outlets, switches, smart-home installs — for the historic single-houses downtown and the new builds in Mt Pleasant alike.

  • Historic-home rewiring
  • Outlets, switches, GFCIs
  • Smart-home & lighting controls
Get a quote

Commercial Electrical

Build-outs, tenant fit-ups, service upgrades, retrofits. We've wired Charleston offices, restaurants & retail for five decades — after-hours work to keep you open.

  • Tenant build-outs & fit-ups
  • Service & panel upgrades
  • After-hours scheduling
Get a service plan

Panel Upgrades

100-amp to 200-amp service upgrades. Federal Pacific, Zinsco, Pushmatic replacement — the dangerous old panels in Lowcountry homes get fixed right, with permits.

  • 100A → 200A service upgrades
  • Federal Pacific / Zinsco replacement
  • Permits & inspection handled
Schedule an assessment

EV Charging Install

Level 2 home chargers, commercial stations, Tesla Wall Connector, ChargePoint, Wallbox. Load calcs, dedicated circuits, code-compliant install — ready for SC's EV future.

  • Level 2 home chargers
  • Commercial charging stations
  • Load calculation & permits
Get an EV quote

Generator Install

Whole-home standby generators — Generac, Kohler, Briggs & Stratton. Automatic transfer switches sized for your home. Because hurricane-season outages aren't optional anymore.

  • Whole-home standby
  • Automatic transfer switches
  • Annual maintenance plans
Get a generator quote

Lightning Protection

South Carolina averages 50+ thunderstorm days a year. Air terminals, down conductors, ground rods, whole-home surge protection. UL-listed systems for historic & modern homes.

  • UL-listed lightning systems
  • Whole-home surge protection
  • Historic-home compatible
Protect your home

Outdoor Lighting

Landscape, dock, accent & security lighting. Low-voltage paths, uplit live oaks, dockside fixtures rated for the salt & spray of Charleston harbor.

  • Landscape & path lighting
  • Dock & marine-grade fixtures
  • Security & motion lighting
Design my lighting

⚡ 24/7 Emergency

Power out? Sparking outlet? Line down on your property after a storm? We answer the phone, days, nights & through hurricane season. Family on the other end — not a call center.

  • Storm & outage response
  • Sparking / smoking outlets
  • Lowcountry priority dispatch
Emergency call →
Field log — Charleston, SC

Our actual work. Around the Lowcountry.

Restaurants on King Street, law offices off Savannah Highway, new-construction rough-ins and night-lit homes on the water. Every photo below is a real Charleston Electrical Services job — no stock images.

Where we work

13 Lowcountry communities. One Romney Street shop.

From the historic peninsula to the salt marsh on Johns Island, from the Battery up to Summerville — our trucks roll out of 60 Romney Street, Charleston SC, and they've been rolling since 1972.

Call (843) 722-8304 All service areas →
CharlestonHome · 60 Romney Street
Mount PleasantEast of the Cooper
North CharlestonPark Circle & up
West AshleyAcross the Ashley
James IslandFolly Rd corridor
Johns IslandMaybank & River Rd
Daniel IslandCainhoy peninsula
Folly BeachThe Edge of America
Sullivan's IslandEast of the bridge
Isle of PalmsWild Dunes & beyond
SummervilleDorchester County
Goose CreekBerkeley County
HanahanNorth Charleston border
Founder George Kornahrens and CEO Johnny Oakley holding a Charleston Electrical Services sign
George Kornahrens & Johnny Oakley Founder & current owner · 60 Romney Street
Our story — since 1972

George started it. Johnny carries it forward.

George Kornahrens graduated from Murray Vocational School in 1944 and spent the next twenty-eight years learning every panel, conduit and circuit in the Lowcountry. In 1972 he opened Charleston Electrical Services with one truck and a simple promise: do honest work, and stand behind it.

“Our relationship with our clients begins on the first day of contact — and only ends once they're fully satisfied with our work.”

Today John “Johnny” Oakley — a Trident Technical College graduate and George's successor — runs the shop on the same code: 18 electricians, 500+ projects, 11 industry awards, and a Romney Street phone line still answered by family.

Serving since
1972
Lowcountry crew
18 electricians
Projects done
500+
Awards
11
Meet the family →
When the lights go out

Hurricane season doesn't keep 9-to-5 hours.

Charleston averages more than 50 thunderstorm days a year, with hurricane warnings running June through November. When the wind brings a line down on your house at 2 a.m., you don't need a call center in Arizona — you need a Romney Street truck. We answer.

  • 24/7 phone response — family answers
  • Lowcountry priority dispatch for active storm zones
  • Generator standby installs ahead of hurricane season
  • Whole-home surge protection & lightning systems
⚡ Call the storm line
Storm-ready since
1972
53 hurricane seasons of keeping Lowcountry power on. Including Hugo, Matthew, Irma, Florence, Dorian and Ian. The lights always come back — faster with us on the call list.
Storm response is dispatched in order of safety priority. Active fires, sparking panels & down lines first. Have your address ready when you call.
What neighbors say

Three generations of repeat customers.

We don't run flashy ads. Most of our work comes from neighbors recommending neighbors — the same way Charleston has always done business.

★★★★★

"Power went out after a summer thunderstorm and we had a sparking panel. Johnny's crew was at the house within the hour. Honest, fast, and didn't try to upsell us into a whole panel replacement we didn't need."

SM
Verified neighbor
Mount Pleasant · Storm response
★★★★★

"Used Charleston Electrical for our EV charger install on Daniel Island. They handled the load calc, the permits, the inspection — we just plugged the car in. Three generations of professionalism shows."

JL
Verified review
Daniel Island · EV install
★★★★★

"Our 1880s single-house downtown needed a full rewire. They worked carefully around the historic plaster, pulled all the permits, and the inspector said it was some of the cleanest work he'd seen this year. That's why we keep calling them."

RW
Longtime customer
Downtown Charleston · Historic rewire
11×
Industry Awards Won
500+
Projects Completed
53
Years in the Lowcountry
Service plans

Annual inspection beats one big outage.

A yearly walkthrough catches the panel that's about to fail, the GFCI that's gone bad, the generator that won't crank when the next hurricane lines up offshore. Three tiers, switch anytime.

Homeowner
The essentials
$15/mo
billed annually · $180 / yr
  • 1 whole-home inspection per year
  • Panel & breaker check
  • GFCI & AFCI test
  • 10% off any repair
  • Priority phone support
Get Homeowner
Most popular
Storm-Ready
Most Lowcountry homes pick this
$25/mo
billed annually · $300 / yr
  • 2 visits / year (Spring + Pre-Hurricane)
  • Full panel & circuit inspection
  • Generator test & tune-up
  • Surge protector check
  • 15% off any repair
  • Priority storm-season dispatch
Get Storm-Ready
Commercial
For businesses
$49/mo
billed annually · $588 / yr
  • Quarterly site inspections
  • Service panel & load monitoring
  • Emergency lighting testing
  • 20% off any repair
  • No after-hours fees
  • After-hours scheduling priority
  • First-in-line storm response
Get Commercial

Sample plans, shown for illustration — your price is quoted per property after a first inspection. New customer? Start there and we'll confirm the right tier together.

Free quote

Tell us what you need.
We'll be in touch fast.

Fill out the form — or skip it and call us. Either way, you'll talk to family, not a call center. We answer evenings & weekends for emergencies, all year, all storms.

  • No-cost, no-pressure estimates
  • Honest repair-vs-replace advice
  • Three generations of Lowcountry electricians
  • Same-day service when possible · 24/7 storm response
Or call us now
(843) 722-8304

By submitting, you agree we may contact you about your request. We never share your information.

Lights out. Sparks flying. No problem.

Call (843) 722-8304 — family answers, the truck rolls. Storm-ready 24/7 from Romney Street to every corner of the Lowcountry.

Call 24/7
(843) 722-8304