Outages are the local story
Ask anyone who lived in Northwest Arkansas in January 2009 about the ice storm. The National Weather Service recorded one to two inches of ice across Washington, Madison, Benton and Carroll counties, and at its peak 75 percent of electric customers in Benton County were without power. Ice storms, severe thunderstorms and the occasional tornado all mean that a backup power plan is a practical question here, not a luxury.
Generators and transfer switches
A portable generator plugged into the house with a "suicide cord" through a dryer outlet is dangerous: it can backfeed the utility lines and electrocute a line worker. The safe options are a manual transfer switch or interlock kit for a portable generator, or a standby generator with an automatic transfer switch. When you ask for a quote, list what you actually need to run during an outage: refrigerator, freezer, furnace blower or heat pump, well pump if you have one, sump pump, a few lights and outlets. The electrician should do a load calculation from that list and size the generator and switch to it. Ask where the generator will sit, how far it must be from doors and windows, and what permit and inspection the job requires.
Storms and surge protection
The March 23, 2016 storms that produced an EF2 tornado in Washington County also dropped hail just west-northwest of Fayetteville. Lightning and utility switching after storms both create surges. A whole-house surge protector at the panel, combined with point-of-use protectors for electronics, is an inexpensive layer. Ask the electrician which type they install and how it connects to your panel. After a storm damages your service mast or the lines to the house, the utility repairs its side, but the mast, meter base and weatherhead are usually the owner's responsibility and need an electrician.
Wind ratings and outdoor equipment
NOAA lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph for Drake Field. Anything you mount outside, from a generator to an EV charger to service equipment on a mast, should be anchored for wind. Ask how outdoor equipment will be secured and protected from driving rain.
Heat pumps and new loads
If you are switching to a heat pump, adding an EV charger, or finishing a basement, the panel may need work. Arkansas sits in the Department of Energy's Southeast region, where new heat pumps must meet 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2, and many come with electric backup strips that draw a large current. Ask the electrician to check your panel's capacity against the new loads before the HVAC contractor installs anything, and to quote both a panel upgrade and a load-management option if the panel is close to full.
Before you hire
Ask for the electrician's state license and whether the work needs a permit; panel changes, new circuits and generator hookups usually do. Get the scope in writing, including breaker sizes, wire sizes and the equipment model numbers. Ask for the inspection to be scheduled before walls are closed on any new wiring.