Cumberland County, Maine
Licensed, insured electrical work for Cumberland homes and businesses, with the owner on every job.
Cumberland runs from the Foreside on Casco Bay to West Cumberland on the Windham line, and its houses span the same distance in time: farmhouses and a brick 1846 schoolhouse on the back roads, then thirty years of subdivision building around Cumberland Center. Goodnow Electric is a licensed Maine master electrician based at 51 Wilson Drive in Westbrook, working on service and panel upgrades, EV chargers, standby generators, rewiring, lighting and 24/7 emergency calls across the town.
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey counts about 3,280 homes in Cumberland, and the median one was built in 1984. About 29 percent went up in 2000 or later and another 26 percent between 1980 and 1999. That still leaves a real older layer: roughly 15 percent predate 1940 and about 24 percent date from 1960 to 1979. Nearly 82 percent are single-family detached houses and about 91 percent are owner-occupied, so most electrical decisions here are made by the people who live with them. For wiring, the split matters. A 1990s colonial usually has a 200-amp breaker panel with room to grow, while a farmhouse or a 1970 ranch may still be on 100 amps, older breakers, and circuits never meant for modern kitchens.
Heating oil is still the fuel in about half of Cumberland's occupied homes, according to the ACS. Utility gas heats about 23 percent, far more than in neighboring North Yarmouth or Freeport, because Summit Natural Gas of Maine built pipe into Cumberland, Falmouth and Yarmouth. Propane heats roughly 12 percent, electricity about 8 percent, and a small share of homes report solar or wood. The oil-heated half is where electrical load is headed up: replacing a boiler with cold-climate heat pumps, adding an electric water heater, or plugging in an EV all draw from the same service, and many of those houses were sized before any of it existed.
Central Maine Power delivers electricity in Cumberland, and the storms that matter here are wind events that drop trees on overhead lines. On December 18, 2023, the National Weather Service recorded waves of 50 to 60 mph gusts through the day, with the Portland Jetport logging three gusts of at least 58 mph, and noted that around 40 percent of electrical customers in the region were out by that evening. Less than a month later, on January 10, 2024, the Jetport measured a 63 mph gust. Wooded lots along roads like Tuttle and Range are exactly the kind of setting where a single limb can take a service drop down with it.
Cumberland separated from North Yarmouth in 1821 and, until 2007, also included Chebeague Island, which then became its own town. Today it has three recognizable parts: Cumberland Foreside along the bay, Cumberland Center inland, and rural West Cumberland running out to the Windham line. Two National Register listings show the older layer: the 1846 Winn Road School, one of only two known brick Greek Revival one-room schoolhouses in Maine, and the Capt. Reuel and Lucy Merrill House in Cumberland Center. Twin Brook and Knight's Pond Preserve keep large tracts open, so many homes sit on wooded lots with long driveways.
Cumberland issues its own electrical permits. The town's Code Enforcement office at 290 Tuttle Road states that it issues all permits associated with construction, including building, plumbing and electrical, and conducts ongoing inspections. It also notes that a separate electrical permit must be obtained by a licensed electrician, or by the owner when the owner does the work. Service changes, generator transfer switches and EV circuits all fall under that permit. Projects near Casco Bay or along streams can also need a shoreland zoning permit from the same office. Since July 1, 2026, Maine requires new electrical installations to follow the 2026 National Electrical Code.
Commercial, solar, smart home and new construction work are covered on our full list of electrical services.
Close to Cumberland, we also work in Yarmouth, Falmouth, North Yarmouth, Gray, Windham, and Freeport. Every town we serve is listed on our service area page.
Planning ahead? Read electrical planning for a new home in Southern Maine, whole-house vs. portable generators for Maine homes, and why LED lighting upgrades pay back fastest.
More resources: answers to common electrical questions, our generator sizing guide, and electrical tips and guides for Maine homeowners.
“I highly recommend Goodnow Electric! We had a couple of small issues at my mother's house, and my initial call was responded to quickly by Brett with a "can do". Before those little things were scheduled, another more concerning issue cropped up.”
Joyce Brown • May 2025 • Google Review
Tell us what you need done and where; a licensed electrician will reply with a written quote.
