100% Canadian Owned and Operated – Shipping across Canada and America – 24*7 Emergency Services
- Mississauga
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100% Canadian Owned and Operated – Shipping across Canada and America – 24*7 Emergency Services
When an electrical failure shuts down your operation, every minute matters. Flooded electrical rooms, breakers failing after power restoration, cold weather load surges, and disaster-related damage don’t just slow things down — they stop production, compromise safety, and create serious financial risk. In these moments, you don’t need estimates or lead times. You need emergency circuit breakers and electrical equipment delivered immediately and RS Breakers will help you!.
RS Breakers specializes in emergency circuit breaker delivery across Canada and the USA, providing same-day and next-day delivery for critical electrical failures. We stock tens of thousands of rare and hard to find breakers and electrical components. When circuit breakers, switchgear, or motor control equipment fail due to flooding, power outages, or extreme weather, our emergency response team moves fast to restore power using like-for-like replacement parts, not time-consuming retrofits.
Electrical emergencies affect both modern and legacy systems. Facilities across North America continue to rely on equipment from Federal Pioneer, Westinghouse, General Electric, Canadian General Electric (CGE), CGE Magna Blast, Amalgamated Electric, Siemens, ITE, Sylvania, Bulldog, Commander, CEB, and other legacy manufacturers. These systems often support critical infrastructure, and when failures occur, replacements must be exact, compliant, and available immediately.
Cold weather events and power restoration surges place extreme stress on aging electrical infrastructure. Breakers and switchgear from Cutler Hammer, Eaton, Square D, Schneider Electric, ABB, SACE, Asea Brown Boveria, and Klockner Moeller are frequently impacted when power returns after an outage. In these scenarios, emergency circuit breaker replacement is required to safely bring systems back online.
RS Breakers maintains a massive inventory of rare, obsolete, and discontinued electrical equipment, allowing facilities to avoid unnecessary system modifications during emergencies. This includes legacy products such as Pushmatic (Push Matic), Pringle switches, Bolt switches, Bolt Lock, Pressure Lock switches, Taylor Electric, Hydel, and other manufacturers no longer supported by OEMs.
In emergency situations, RS can supply and deliver critical components including:
Because RS stocks these components, facilities are not forced into costly retrofits, bus bar modifications, or panel redesigns when time is critical. In most emergency situations, a like-for-like circuit breaker or switchgear replacement is the fastest, safest, and most inspector-approved solution.
In these moments, downtime costs more than parts. Every hour without power impacts safety, compliance, production, and revenue. That’s why qualified electricians call RS first. Inspectors and insurance providers consistently prefer like-for-like circuit breaker and switchgear replacement for brands such as GE, Westinghouse, Federal Pioneer, Siemens, Eaton, Square D, and Schneider Electric, because they restore systems quickly without increasing risk.
RS operates a dedicated emergency electrical response team, supported by a proven logistics network across Canada and the United States. We routinely deliver emergency circuit breakers, switchgear, and critical electrical components same day or next day, often faster than temporary generator solutions can be installed.
If your breaker, switchgear, or motor control equipment has failed, don’t assume you need to retrofit or redesign your system. In many cases, RS already has the emergency circuit breakers in stock, regardless of brand or vintage.
Before making a costly decision under pressure, it’s critical to understand why circuit breakers and switchgear fail during emergency situations — and how identifying the cause helps determine the fastest path back online. That’s exactly what we’ll break down next.
Electrical emergencies rarely happen at random. In almost every case, there is a clear and predictable reason behind the failure. Understanding why circuit breakers fail during emergency situations is critical, because it directly determines how fast power can be restored and whether downtime lasts hours, days, or weeks.
One of the most common causes of emergency circuit breaker replacement is flooding of electrical rooms. During cold weather, frozen pipes burst and release large volumes of water directly into panels, switchgear, and breaker assemblies. Once water enters an electrical system, breakers are immediately compromised. Even if power is shut off quickly, moisture contamination can cause internal corrosion, insulation breakdown, and unsafe operating conditions. In these situations, breakers cannot simply be dried and reused. Emergency circuit breakers are required, often immediately, to safely restore power.
Flooding is not limited to cold weather. Storms, heavy rainfall, hurricanes, and infrastructure failures regularly lead to flooded electrical rooms in commercial and industrial facilities. When this happens, the demand for emergency circuit breaker delivery spikes, especially for older and obsolete breakers that are no longer available through standard supply channels. This is where delays often occur — unless the supplier already has inventory in stock.
Another major cause of emergency breaker failure occurs after power outages and power restoration. When electricity is restored following an outage, the sudden surge in demand places extreme stress on electrical systems. Older breakers, already weakened by age or prior loading, are especially vulnerable. Breakers may trip repeatedly, fail to reset, or experience internal damage that prevents safe operation. In these cases, facilities often discover that a breaker which worked for years will no longer function once power is restored.
Cold weather intensifies this risk. During extreme temperatures, electrical loads increase as heating systems, motors, and industrial equipment draw more power. Cold weather breaker failures are common in older facilities where electrical infrastructure was never designed for modern load demands. When breakers fail under these conditions, immediate replacement is required to prevent extended downtime.
Electrical emergencies are also frequently triggered by fires, forest fires, hurricanes, utility surges, and infrastructure damage. Even when damage appears localized, breakers may be exposed to heat, smoke, vibration, or voltage irregularities that compromise performance. In these cases, inspectors and electricians often require like for like circuit breaker replacements to ensure the system is returned to its original, approved configuration as quickly as possible.
A critical mistake many facilities make during emergencies is assuming that breaker failure automatically means a retrofit or system modification is required. Under pressure, decision-makers are often told that panels must be redesigned, bus bars modified, or entire systems upgraded. These approaches dramatically extend downtime and introduce new risks, including engineering delays, inspection approvals, and insurance complications.
In reality, most emergency breaker failures do not require immediate retrofitting. The fastest solution — and the one preferred by electricians, inspectors, and insurance providers — is typically a like for like circuit breaker replacement. The challenge is availability. Many facilities operate with older breakers that are discontinued or difficult to source. When suppliers don’t have inventory, retrofits appear to be the only option.
This is where RS Breakers changes the equation.
RS maintains a massive inventory of rare, obsolete, and discontinued circuit breakers, specifically to support emergency situations. Because RS already stocks breakers across all vintages, many failures caused by flooding, power restoration, or cold weather can be resolved with same-day or next-day emergency circuit breaker delivery. This allows facilities to restore power without redesigning their electrical system or increasing downtime.
Understanding the cause of the failure is the first step. The next — and most important — step is choosing the fastest and lowest-risk path back online. In the following section, we’ll explain why like for like circuit breaker replacement is almost always faster than retrofitting, how it reduces downtime and insurance risk, and why experienced electricians call RS before making any modification decisions.
When an electrical emergency happens, the pressure to restore power leads many facilities down the wrong path. In the middle of a crisis, it’s common to hear that a retrofit, panel modification, or bus bar redesign is required. In reality, those approaches are often unnecessary — and they almost always extend downtime. The fastest, safest, and most widely accepted solution in emergency situations is a like for like circuit breaker replacement.
A like for like circuit breaker replacement means replacing a failed breaker with the same model, rating, and configuration that was originally installed. This approach preserves the existing electrical design, avoids engineering changes, and allows systems to be brought back online quickly. In emergency conditions, speed matters, and like for like replacement is consistently the fastest solution.
Inspectors, electricians, and insurance providers strongly prefer like for like circuit breaker replacement because it minimizes risk. There is no change to fault ratings, no alteration to load calculations, and no redesign of approved electrical infrastructure. The system is restored to its original, compliant state — which is exactly what inspectors and insurers want to see after an emergency.
By contrast, retrofitting or modifying electrical equipment introduces delays at every stage. Retrofitting often requires engineering assessments, custom bus bar modifications, panel alterations, and additional inspections. These steps can take days or weeks, especially during periods of high demand caused by flooding, cold weather, power outages, or regional disasters. During that time, facilities remain offline, production is halted, and costs continue to climb.
One of the most overlooked risks of retrofitting during an emergency is insurance exposure. Modifying electrical systems under pressure can trigger additional scrutiny from insurers and, in some cases, lead to increased premiums or coverage questions. Like for like circuit breaker replacement avoids these issues by maintaining the original system configuration and documentation.
The reason many facilities believe retrofitting is unavoidable comes down to availability. Older facilities often rely on breakers that are discontinued or considered obsolete. When suppliers don’t have inventory, retrofit becomes the default recommendation — not because it’s better, but because the correct breaker can’t be sourced quickly.
This is exactly where RS Breakers provides a critical advantage.
RS maintains one of the largest inventories of rare, obsolete, and discontinued circuit breakers in North America. Because RS stocks breakers across all vintages and manufacturers, many failures that appear to require modification can actually be resolved with a like for like circuit breaker replacement delivered same day or next day. In emergency situations, this inventory depth eliminates unnecessary downtime.
Electricians know this. That’s why qualified electricians call RS first when a breaker fails. They understand that before recommending a retrofit, it makes sense to check whether a like for like replacement is available immediately. In many cases, RS can supply the exact breaker faster than a retrofit plan can even be approved.
Another key advantage of like for like circuit breaker replacement is predictability. The installation process is straightforward, familiar, and efficient. There are no surprises, no re-engineering, and no delays waiting for custom parts. In emergency conditions caused by flooding, cold weather load failures, or power restoration surges, predictability is critical.
RS Breakers combines deep technical knowledge with emergency logistics to ensure that emergency circuit breaker delivery happens fast. Our team understands how to identify the correct breaker quickly, verify compatibility, and ship immediately. This allows facilities to restore power safely without escalating the scope of the emergency.
Before committing to a retrofit, modification, or system redesign, it’s always worth asking one question: “Is a like for like replacement available right now?” In many cases, the answer is yes — and choosing that path saves time, money, and operational disruption.
Once the decision to pursue a like for like replacement is made, the final concern is availability and speed. In the next section, we’ll show how RS Breakers’ emergency inventory and logistics network ensures that critical breakers can be located, verified, and delivered exactly when and where they’re needed.
When electrical systems fail, inventory and speed are the only things that matter. Having the right part available — and getting it delivered immediately — is what determines whether downtime lasts hours or stretches into days or weeks. RS Breakers is built specifically for these moments, with deep emergency inventory and a logistics network designed to move fast.
RS maintains one of the most extensive inventories of emergency electrical equipment in North America, covering both modern and legacy systems. This includes circuit breakers across all vintages, along with vacuum breakers, air circuit breakers, and generator circuit breakers required for critical infrastructure and backup power systems. When power is down, these components must be replaced immediately — not ordered and delayed.
In addition to breakers, RS supplies switchgear and switchgear components, allowing facilities to restore complete electrical systems without redesigns or temporary workarounds. For distribution systems, RS stocks bus plugs (fusible) and bus duct, enabling rapid replacement of damaged or failed components without modifying existing layouts.
Motor control failures are another common source of emergency downtime. RS carries Motor Control Center (MCC) buckets and wrappers, along with NEMA starters and NEMA contactors, to support like for like replacement of motor control equipment. Whether the failure affects a single motor or an entire MCC lineup, having the correct bucket or wrapper available is critical to restoring operations quickly.
RS also supports emergency replacement needs for transformers, ensuring facilities can restore voltage control and system stability without extended outages. When combined with emergency circuit breaker delivery, these components allow full electrical restoration — not just partial fixes.
Inventory alone is not enough. RS supports its emergency supply capabilities with a dedicated emergency response team and proven logistics network across Canada and the United States. We coordinate same-day and next-day delivery of circuit breakers, switchgear, MCC components, bus systems, and transformers — often faster than temporary generator solutions can be deployed.
Our team works directly with electricians, facilities managers, and engineers to verify part numbers, ratings, configurations, and compatibility before shipping. This reduces installation delays and prevents costly mistakes during high-pressure situations. When time is critical, accuracy matters as much as speed.
In these situations, like for like replacement is almost always the fastest and lowest-risk solution. Because RS stocks rare, obsolete, and discontinued equipment, facilities are not forced into retrofits, bus bar modifications, or panel redesigns simply due to availability issues.
Downtime costs more than parts. Every hour without power impacts safety, compliance, production schedules, and revenue. That’s why qualified electricians, inspectors, and insurers trust RS when emergencies occur. They know RS can supply the correct circuit breakers, switchgear, and electrical components — fast.
If your electrical system is down, waiting only increases risk. Whether you need emergency circuit breakers, vacuum or air breakers, generator breakers, switchgear, bus plugs, MCC buckets, transformers, or motor control components, RS Breakers is ready to respond.
Our emergency response team will confirm availability and get the right parts moving immediately — so you can restore power safely and get back up and running without unnecessary delay.