Nielsen Electric
Company Overview
Nielsen Electric, Inc., the longest-standing contractor in Alameda, was established by Tom Nielsen as a one-man business amidst the hardships of the depression.
In the 1950s, Tom's son, Eric A. Nielsen, along with his wife, Diana Traini Nielsen, took the reins of the company.
Eric and Diana's children, Eric Jr. and Sidney, learned the family craft as teenagers and remain active in the business.
Now, their granddaughter, Diana Nielsen Henneman, collaborates with her grandmother in the office.
At Nielsen Electric, Inc., we are experts in all kinds of electrical systems, especially those found in the historic homes of the East Bay.
Contact our office today to receive the same exceptional service that our clients have enjoyed for over 75 years.
Family owned and operated since 1932.
Business Services
- Electric inspection
- Electric installation or replacement
- Light fixture installation
Business Location & Hours
Mon: | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Tue: | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Wed: | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Thu: | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Fri: | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Sat: | Closed |
Sun: | Closed |
Recommended Customer Reviews

Power problem in one of the units, some outlets and lights quit working. Found that power only coming out of one side of main breaker, pulled it and found connections corroded and burned. Put it back, now no power.
It's Sunday, (Memorial day weekend), called Nielsen electric and Eric came and took a look. He went back to his place and found the pieces to replace in the power box. To make a long story short he fixed the connections, installed a new breaker and got all of the power working and it was still light out.
Thanks Eric for the reasonably priced fast and completed Sunday service.
Nielsen Electric was the only same day response of all the electricians that I called.
Nielsen Electric saved the day!

They came promptly and did a great job. We will call Sid the next time we have an
electric problem. We have rentals and it is nice to know who to call.

6 months after Eric solved another electrical problem for me, the power went out in another apartment. I called Eric and he came out in a couple of hours. The problem was caused by a leak that corroded a connection and circuit breaker. He fixed it in the rain and told me to caulk the hinge above the breaker door. Eric saved the day again. He is good at troubleshooting problems and his rates are very reasonable.

I was looking for an electrical contractor and chose Nielsen Electric because I wanted a company that was in Alameda which is where we live. Nielsen Electric's website, was very impressive, a family owned business that goes back 75 years, passed down through the family, all born and raised in Alameda. I called and made an appointment on Friday, 1/8 for an estimate. Eric Nielsen showed up right on time, seemed like a nice enough guy. We had a home inspection report, which made things easier for Eric to see where the problems were. My husband who also grew up in Alameda and knew the family name, walked around with Eric discussing the repairs needed and everything seemed fine. Eric was supposed to get back to me on Monday 1/11 with a proposal, today is 1/19. I have made several calls to the number he lists on his website, no answer, no recorded greeting. I have sent several emails with no reply. The family history on the website is true, however, Sidney ""Sid"" Eric's brother, does not work with Neilsen Electric in Alameda any longer, even though it appears that he does. I did a little research and was able to locate Sid Nielsen, S.J.N. Electric in San Leandro. I gave him a call, he said that he would ""make it right for me"" He is coming out tomorrow...Look for my Yelp review for S.J.N. Electric in San Leandro, I'll let you know how it worked out.

I see some have had similar experiences... Nov of last year, i contacted them via their website's ""contact us"" feature. They simply never contacted me. On 10/21/15, exact same thing. Put in a request for a quote, not a response, email, text message etc.....
People may say ""pick up the phone and call them..."" I say ""NO"". I don't like the phone, and, if they didn't want to offer electronic communication, they should not make it available to the consumer. If they aren't interested in the work, simply say so.... Thx

I called Saturday morning around 10:30am and left a message. I received a call back from Sid within 30 minutes. He walked me through some trouble-shooting on the phone and suggested I call the power company -- turns out, it was on the power company side and it was completely resolved within three hours.
He was kind and generous with his time and knowledge. If I have future electrical needs Sid will be the first one I call.

We recently had Ron return to do some electrical work in a bathroom and to install a new light fixture in our patio. He was thorough, knowledgable and a very agreeable person. We've used Nielsen Electric many times over the years and highly recommend this Alameda company.

My 5-star review is contingent on Eric or Ron doing the work. I've had a great experience with both of them, but not necessarily Sid. So make sure you get one of them out!
Eric and Ron are reliable, friendly and knowledgeable, and have fixed our issues with no fuss at all over the years. I highly recommend them!

We moved to a new house and needed some electrical work done.We were lucky to to have Eric and his team to have the work done right.They were able to find more problems that they fixed with a very reasonable price .Quality of work is outstanding.They seem never been in a hurry , spending quality of times fixing everything.I would recommend them to anyone that that need electrical help.

It surprises me that the reviews here were 5 star. There was a time when small and family owned meant attention to detail and a caring response. It seems that family owned in this business means that Grandma didn't pass the message to the granddaughter so that each time we called the wife or daughter had no clue where things left off. In short, the handling was unprofessional. Moreover, the company provided details regarding private business information to third parties. Nielsen himself seemed stand up enough but he said one thing to us and another to others about the same project. In the end we found a way more stand up and professional family owned electrician who did the job right, professionally and reasonably priced. Skip Nielsen's double talk and hire T.E.C instead.