Electricians for generators and transfer switches.
Peoria winters give backup power a real job. The city averages 24.6 inches of snow a year, with December and January the heaviest months, and in February 2011 Ameren Illinois planned for as many as 100,000 customers statewide to lose power ahead of a blizzard. A standby generator is what keeps the furnace and sump running through an outage like that. Hiring for it here involves more than the machine. Within the City of Peoria, a permit is required for adding to or changing electrical systems, and those permits come from Building Inspections, not Public Works. The city has adopted the 2017 National Electrical Code. Ameren Illinois also sets its own rules: it requires a visible open disconnect between its system and your generator, and the transfer arrangement must prevent the generator and the grid from being connected at once. Before you hire, ask who pulls the permit, whether the electrician is licensed where the work happens, and how the transfer switch and disconnect will meet Ameren's requirements.
Sources: Illinois State Climatologist (source, opens in a new tab), The Pantagraph (source, opens in a new tab)
Family-owned since 2014, this Morton firm handles standby generators and home battery backup alongside heating and cooling work. Emergency service is offered, and Generac and Rheem equipment are among its brands.
Since 2001, this family-owned Lacon shop has worked only with Generac generators, covering standby generators, transfer switches and backup power. Emergency work is offered.
Generator installs, home battery backup and panel upgrades come from this Washington electrician, which works with Generac and Tesla Powerwall equipment. It serves Peoria, Washington, Metamora and Morton, and financing is available.
Bartonville firm selling industrial cleaning equipment, parts and chemicals, serving Central Illinois since 1963.
Electrical contractor in Mossville, serving Peoria and Pekin since 1940, with generator installs among its electrical work. Emergency service is also offered.
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Peoria's Building Safety page says the electrician on a solar permit must be licensed with the City of Peoria. The city has adopted the 2017 National Electrical Code, effective May 1, 2021.
Ameren Illinois's generator connection document describes an open transition as moving load between sources with a double-throw switch or interlocks that prevent the second source from closing before the first opens. It lists an integral transfer switch with mechanical interlocking as one accepted way to achieve it.
A generator wired into your home needs an approved transfer switch, fitted under a permit, so it can’t feed power back into the lines. Plan it before you buy.
Get written quotes from at least three contractors for the same work, and check references from recent clients.
Put it in a written contract: the work, price, deposit, start and finish dates, warranty, permits and clean-up. Paying cash to skip it leaves you no recourse.
Within the City of Peoria, a permit is required for adding to or changing parts of the electrical, heating or plumbing systems, which covers connecting a generator to your house wiring. Ask the contractor to say in writing who applies for it and when inspection happens. City of Peoria (source, opens in a new tab)
Peoria's Public Works page says permits for electrical, plumbing and roofing work are issued by Building Inspections, not Public Works. Public Works handles things like stormwater, erosion and the public right-of-way. Contact Building Inspections about the generator permit, and confirm your contractor has done so. City of Peoria (source, opens in a new tab)
Ameren Illinois requires a visible open disconnect between its system and your generator, and Ameren personnel must be able to reach it at all times. Ask your installer where the disconnect will go and whether the plan accounts for that access. Ameren Illinois (source, opens in a new tab)
A useful quote names the generator model, the transfer switch type, the disconnect, the permit and inspection steps, who does the electrical and gas work, and what warranty applies. Ask each contractor for the same items so you can compare quotes line by line.