Cumberland County, Maine
Licensed, insured electrical work for Gray homes and businesses, with the owner on every job.
Gray sits where five state routes meet Maine Turnpike exit 63, halfway between Portland and Lewiston, and it has grown into a commuter town wrapped around an old village center. Its homes range from farmhouses to lake camps to new subdivisions. Goodnow Electric, a Westbrook-based Maine master electrician, is a short turnpike run away and covers Gray's service changes, chargers, backup power, rewiring, lighting and after-hours calls, taking care of the town permit and the CMP side of each job.
Census estimates for 2020-2024 put Gray at about 8,400 people in roughly 4,400 homes, with 1983 as the middle year of construction. Around 12 percent of houses are older than 1940 and another 6 percent or so are from the 1940s and 1950s, yet most of the town was built after that: roughly 29 percent in the 1960s and 1970s and another 27 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. That puts a large share of the town in houses now 45 to 65 years old, many still on the services and panels they were built with. Roughly 78 percent are detached single-family houses, close to one in eleven is part of a two- to four-unit building, and mobile homes make up about 5 percent. Around 630 homes are held for seasonal use, and camps converted to year-round living bring their own wiring questions.
Heating oil warms about 53 percent of occupied homes in Gray, propane about 25 percent, electricity and wood about 10 percent each, and utility gas only about 1 percent. With so much oil in the mix, heat pump conversions are the main source of new electrical load, and a house that adds heat pumps, a heat pump water heater and an EV charger can double its peak demand. Commuters on the turnpike and Route 26 put real miles on their cars, which makes a home Level 2 charger worth planning. A charger programmed to wait out the weekday supper-hour peak can qualify for $400 back through Efficiency Maine.
Central Maine Power serves Gray, largely over roadside lines through wooded country between the village and the lakes. Gray went dark with the rest of southern Maine in the two big recent storms: the October 2017 wind event, Maine's largest weather outage at more than 400,000 customers, and the March 2024 ice storm, which cut about 200,000 CMP accounts. Gray is also home to the National Weather Service's Gray/Portland forecast office, which issues the warnings for western Maine and New Hampshire. Out on the well-served back roads, a Gray outage takes the water pressure along with the furnace.
Gray was incorporated in 1778 and named for proprietor Thomas Gray, after decades of frontier conflict that led to the building of Fort Gray in 1755. Samuel Mayall opened what is described as the first successful water-powered woolen mill in North America on Collyer Brook in 1791; Mayall Mill is now a state historic site. The villages are Gray, Dry Mills, East Gray, North Gray, South Gray and West Gray, and the town fronts Little Sebago Lake, Crystal Lake and Forest Lake. Gray is also home to the Maine Wildlife Park and a state fish hatchery.
Electrical inspections in Gray are done by the town's own Code Enforcement Office, which covers building, plumbing, electrical, septic and sign permits and checks each application against town and state codes. For construction, Gray applies MUBEC, Maine's statewide building and energy code, and its shoreland zoning map marks the land near lakes and streams where outdoor equipment faces tighter placement rules. For wiring, Maine's electricians' board moved to the 2026 NEC for jobs started from July 1, 2026. Goodnow Electric files the Gray permit and books the inspection.
Commercial, solar, smart home and new construction work are covered on our full list of electrical services.
Close to Gray, we also work in New Gloucester, North Yarmouth, Cumberland, Windham, Raymond, and Falmouth. 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.
“Brett and team did a great job installing some lights, switches and outlets in our home. Brett’s team was professional and worked with me to figure out the best locations, size, and number of lights to install in our home. They go above and beyond to make sure the customer is happy.”
Draven Walker • September 2025 • Google Review
Tell us what you need done and where; a licensed electrician will reply with a written quote.
