Generator Interest Increase After Ice Storm Outages

The ice storm two weeks ago has led to more residents looking at home generators.

Cove Generators President Dave Boender said they received 170 consultation calls in the week following the ice storm. Boender said generators are more affordable than people think, depending on what you’re backing up.

“If you have a gas hot water heater it doesn’t take anything to do that,” Boender said. “So you can easily have some lights, maybe your TV and your heat on and your hot water. Your set to make it through the storm for a few days.”

Boender said that depending on the home size and what is being backed up, generator prices average between $8,500 and $10,000. He said price is based on an assessment of the home and what needs to be powered.

“You can do what we call emergency circuits or dedicated circuits, it normally is a smaller generator,” Boender said. “For the most part we have one generator that we can put up to 16 different circuits in that you want to have while your home has no utility power.”

Boender said there’s also a smaller option.

“You can have just eight circuits,” Boender said. “So if someone has gas heat, it doesn’t take much to turn the squirrel cage fan on your gas furnace to keep your house warm.”

However, Boender said rushing to hook up a portable generator can have fatal consequences if rigged improperly.

“If someone happens to unplug that cord while the generators running, there’s a good possibility they’re gonna get electrocuted and severely hurt,” Boender said. “Not only that, but if it’s not done right it will backfeed the main power line and you take a great chance of killing a lineman that’s trying to restore power back to your home.”

Boender said that they can provide a portable generator system that can prevent backfeed from occurring. He said there were customers who had received quotes before that finally decided after the last ice storm they want a generator installed.

“This is continuing to occur, our infrastructure is continuing to get weaker,” Boender said. “We tend to have more outages, the weather seems to be more severe and so some people said they just wanted to plan for the next one.”

Boender said Cove Generators will provide a free in-home consultation. He said anyone interested can call (931) 839-3311 to make an appointment.