Central Electric

Central Electric operates out of San Marcos, Texas as a local electrician outfit focused on residential and commercial work across Hays County. The company traces back more than sixty-five years to when Ted Breihan started the business after returning from WWII. It remains family owned and has held certified membership in the Central Texas Chapter of the Independent Electrical Contractors since 1998. Crews handle everything from basic fixture installs to bigger repair jobs in homes and businesses throughout the area. Homeowners in this part of Texas often deal with aging wiring and storm-related outages, so the outfit stays ready for those common calls that keep lights on and panels safe.

Electricians from the company manage lighting upgrades, equipment hookups, and full-scale repairs on both new builds and older properties. They respond to utility transfer requests and power restoration after billing holds, sometimes using remote shutoffs to handle accounts. One customer noted a representative named Carol Alvarez listened carefully to a theory about a meter issue without pushing back right away. Other jobs have involved after-hours reconnects when service gets cut, though crews have been known to show up only after extra fees are paid. Work often covers central Texas homes where heat or cold snaps make power loss a real problem that needs quick attention from the crew.

Customers have pointed out repeated problems with how the outfit handles billing mistakes and power restoration, leading to long waits even after payments clear and surprise charges for simple remote fixes. Reviews mention outages lasting a full day in hot weather or during freezes because reconnection did not happen right away despite claims otherwise. Communication around name transfers and late fees draws the most complaints, with some homeowners left without heat or cooling while trying to sort accounts over the phone. These patterns across many jobs explain the low marks for speed and price. DIRT Score 1.64 from 97 reviews on Finds.

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“Dealing with utility issues is no one’s favorite and no one hinted to leave a review but I was thoroughly impressed with how pleasant and helpful a customer service representative Carol Alvarez was recently. She listened to my theory and wasn’t defensive about it being something on my end, thoroughly looked into my questions, and provided detailed info via email to confidently conclude my issue. World needs more people like her; in a job where I’m sure people aren’t the most pleasant back she was so nice and helpful, thank you.”

“Negative stars…I made a mistake an honest mistake and forgot to pay my bill. Now I’m out 360$ the exorbitant bill on top of 150 some dollars to get it turned on because it was after 4 and said they would send someone out … THEY DIDNT NEED TO SEND ANYONE ! They remote turned off and on that shit so I paid 150 after 4 for what!? I have never been so disgusted with San Marcos”

“The absolute worst. I will be moving to Austin and not deal with this town. It’s 90 degrees out and they cut my electric I paid it and they DID NOT RESTORE. It took a whole 24 hours and me calling for 15 min to get my electric back. They claimed to have restored it as soon as I paid it and clearly they did not. My food has gonna bad and I had to endure the heat in my apartment. Do better.”

“Asked to have utilities transferred to a different name. Instead they disconnected our utilities at 4:30, when I asked the utilities person why, he told me I had to call, called they told me I had to pay $200 after hours fee to have reconnected, otherwise no heat in freezing cold at home with my wife and daughter. Spoke to a manager. Never any admission that they should have just transferred instead of disconnected. Simple refusal to turn power back until we paid $200 after hours fee. Extortion. Robbery. Unbelievably rude and unprofessional.”

“Poorly run and disorganized, if they had competition as a business, they would not survive. You can't set up autopay over the phone. Its 2025. You can't set up autopay over the phone. Its 2025. I often don't receive my bill to my email. It's an absolute joke. They do not earn their position of authority”