Are you looking for an electrician in Geneva to bring an installation up to standard, add sockets or prepare for an EV charging point? This page describes what the trade involves in a dense city at the end of Lake Geneva, and what to prepare in order to obtain comparable quotes. Electrical work in Geneva mostly takes place in buildings, often old ones, where every intervention also affects the neighbours.
Electrician in Geneva: the most common types of work
The electrician works on interior installations: sockets, lighting, electrical panel, connection of appliances. Compliance upgrades come on top of this, when an old installation no longer meets current requirements, for example during a renovation or when a tenant changes.
Geneva is the second-largest city in Switzerland, and its housing stock reflects that density. In the Pâquis, the Eaux-Vives, Plainpalais, the Jonction or Champel, you mostly find apartment buildings where several homes share risers, cellars and technical rooms. Typical requests there are therefore:
- replacing a panel that has become too small after years of successive additions;
- creating socket points where a room has very few, which happens in older apartments;
- redoing the lighting of a kitchen or bathroom during a renovation;
- connecting a replaced dishwasher, oven or hob;
- preparing cable routes for an EV charging point or for equipment linked to a heat pump or solar panels.
What the older buildings of the Pâquis, the Eaux-Vives and the old town change for electrics
In a dense building, you do not drill into a wall without thinking about the route of the cables. Existing ducts are sometimes full or hard to reach, and a decision must be made whether to run cables on the surface, in trunking, or to open up the partitions. This choice affects the price and the state of the finishes: ask the electrician to say clearly which solution they choose and why.
The old town, built on its hill around St Peter’s Cathedral, and the protected districts add a further constraint. When a building is protected, certain openings, chases or visible elements on the facade may be restricted. Check with the competent department before planning visible work: it is for them, not the company, to say what is permitted for your building.
The proximity of the lake, the Rhône and the Arve does not dictate the technique by itself, but in cellars and ground floors close to the water, the question of damp is worth raising with the electrician: location of the panel, equipment suited to damp rooms. Hot summers in the city, for their part, weigh on poorly ventilated technical rooms and on top-floor homes, where supplementary air conditioning can strain an original installation.
Rented buildings, property agents and co-ownership in Geneva
A large share of Geneva’s housing stock is rented, and many buildings are managed by property agents (régies). This changes how electrical work is ordered.
If you are a tenant, do not order work on the fixed installation without the written consent of the landlord, which generally goes through the property agent. An extra socket or a light point is part of the fixed installation: the request must be made in writing, with a precise description of what you want.
If you own an apartment in co-ownership, take into account what is shared: risers, main panel, car park, technical rooms. A charging point in a shared garage, for example, affects these common areas and generally requires the co-ownership’s agreement. As decisions of this kind are taken at a meeting, allow for this delay in your schedule rather than discovering the obstacle after signing a quote.
If you own a house or villa, you decide alone, but the same safety requirements apply.
Procedures in Geneva: authorisation, standard and safety report
The framework is federal before it is Genevan. Working on a fixed electrical installation requires an installation licence issued by ESTI, under the Low-Voltage Installations Ordinance (OIBT). The installation must comply with the NIBT standard. At the end of the work, the installer provides a safety report (RS). Installations are also inspected periodically, with the frequency depending on the type of building.
At cantonal level, building permits are issued by the Office des autorisations de construire (the building permits office). A simple replacement of sockets generally does not require one, but heavier work, equipment on a facade or roof, or a major conversion may do so. Do not assume: ask the municipality or the cantonal office before you start.
On the energy side, the cantonal energy law (LEn) and the Cantonal Energy Office (OCEN) govern the subsidies of the Buildings Programme in Geneva. If your project includes solar panels or a heat pump, the conditions for support should be examined before ordering the work, with the competent cantonal service, as their rules change.
Preparing your electrician request in Geneva
A useful quote starts with a precise description. Note down:
- the type of home (rented apartment, co-ownership, villa), the floor, whether there is a lift and the access for materials;
- the approximate age of the installation and the state of the panel, if you know it;
- what you want: number of sockets or light points to add, appliances to connect, EV charging point, link with heating or solar;
- the constraints: protected building, common areas, work to be coordinated with a carpenter, a tiler or a mason;
- photos of the panel and of the rooms concerned.
A good quote itemises the materials, the labour, the safety report, the making good of chases and openings, and states whether waste removal is included. It also specifies what remains your responsibility, such as moving furniture or painting after the cables have been run.
The cost varies with the accessibility of the ducts, whether or not the walls need to be opened, the size and age of the panel, the number of points to be created and the level of finish. No reliable price can be given without seeing the premises: that is why the request must be complete. To send it to tradespeople in the area and receive proposals with no obligation, you can request a quote.
Useful pages for your works in Geneva
- The trade in general: electrician
- The city: works in Geneva
- The canton: canton of Geneva
- Other works in the same municipality: heating engineer in Geneva, tiling in Geneva, masonry in Geneva
If your project combines several trades, for example a kitchen redone with new tiling and new sockets, describe everything in a single request: this avoids duplication and makes it easier to coordinate the site.
Updated 29 October 2026