Liverpool NY, Liverpool Review
Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Liverpool company aides hurricane victims

Generation Power sends generators to Florida by Casey A. Smith

Following the recent string of hurricanes to hit Florida, the Federal Emergency Management Agency need two 9,000-pound generators to supply power to two area high schools being used as shelters.

They called Liverpool's Generation Power, which has been opened on Henry Clay Boulevard since June 1, has sent 25 generators to Florida residents and businesses since the hurricanes began. This is something Kyle Capshaw, an inside sales and market development representative from the company, says is quite a feat for a company that has been open for only three months.

"We feel its pretty special to be able to do that in such a short period," Capshaw said.

Generation Power is a supercenter for all types of generators, including portable generators, automatic home standby generators, industrial generators, rental generators, commercial generators and transfer switches.

Capshaw said the company's Web site has been critical in getting attention from buyers by giving them an immediate presence on the Web. He said this presence has also helped get the company sales all across the United States and in other countries around the world. Its overnight capabilities have been a strongpoint.

Generation Power's business model is to carry all brands of generators and to stock significant quantities of each so that it can sell to anyone in need, whether it be customers, like homeowners or businesses, or distributors, said Capshaw.

The company provided emergency power sources for the 2004 Harbor Fest in Oswego during their power outage, and it recently donated a $15,000 emergency generator to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park.

The recent events in Florida gave the company a chance to show its abilities.

"We proved we are a resource on a world-wide level to support disasters such as hurricanes," Capshaw said.

Liverpool company gives $15,000 generator to zoo

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park won't have to shut down anymore, as it did a few weeks ago, when there was a power failure.

Generation Power, of Liverpool, is donating a 95-kilowatt generator worth $15,000.

"As a new business in the community, it is nice to be able to reach out and show that we care," said Kyle Capshaw, Generation Power executive.

- Staff reports

Local Company Donates Generator to Zoo

The Syracuse Rosamond Gifford Zoo gets a big donation from Generation Power.  Onondaga County executive Nick Pirro and executives from Generation Power were on hand as a 95 kilowatt generator was delivered to the zoo. 

The company, located in Liverpool, donated a generator with enough power to support the zoo's electrical needs.  Generation Power specializes in primary power and backup generators. 

Dr. Anne Baker, the zoo's director says that now the zoo will be able to stay open and running during power outages like the ones experienced a few weeks ago.

- Staff reports

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E0DA1430F930A25755C0A9629C8B63

YOUR HOME; Providing Electricity When the Power Fails

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JUNE 1 was the official start of the hurricane season. And while for most people, the event probably passed unnoticed, it was the signal for home centers and hardware stores to roll out their supplies of emergency backup generators.

''You don't realize how much you rely on electricity until it's gone,'' said Jon Hoch, founder of Electric Generators Direct, an Internet retailer (electricgeneratorsdirect.com). The remedy, he said, is a backup power source. ''There are two basic types,'' Mr. Hoch said, ''portable generators and permanently installed automatic-start standby systems.''

Since permanent systems cost a great deal -- they start at about $3,000, not including installation -- and since generators are typically used only a few times a year if at all, most people opt for portable generators.

''We recommend getting a generator that supplies at least 5,000 watts,'' Mr. Hoch said. ''That should be able to keep your survival appliances running.''

Survival appliances, he said, include refrigerators, well pumps, lights and heating system motors and blowers. ''If you want to run more things, you have to get more power,'' he said, adding that portable generators are also available in wattages lower than 5,000, which can provide power for lights and small appliances but not much more, and up to 12,000 watts, which can run a central air-conditioning system. A basic, manual-start, 5,000-watt generator is about $700, he said. A 12,000-watt unit with a battery-powered electric start is about $2,000.

While homeowners can plug their appliances directly into a portable generator, doing so generally requires many long extension cords. ''And extension cords aren't going to get the blower motor on your furnace working,'' Mr. Hoch said.

Darren Otis, operations manager for Generation Power, a Liverpool, N.Y., generator retailer (www.generation-power.com), recommends a power transfer switch.

''There are a whole gamut of switches available,'' Mr. Otis said, adding that a basic one, which costs about $250, connects the generator directly to the home's electrical panel.

Doing that, he said, allows the homeowner to choose which circuits get power and to provide power to things that cannot be plugged in. More important, having a transfer switch enables the homeowner to disconnect the house from the electrical grid while the power is out. ''The grid disconnect is one of the most critical components,'' Mr. Otis said. He explained that if a house's electrical system is being powered by a generator and is not disconnected from the utility grid, the generator's electrical power can backfeed into the grid and injure or kill utility employees working on the system.

Because portable generators create carbon monoxide, they can also be dangerous to owners. Ken Giles, a spokesman for the Consumer Products Safety Commission in Washington, said that running a generator in a safe location outdoors is critical. ''People put them in basements, in attached garages and just outside their kitchen window,'' he said. ''And all of those options are hazardous.''

Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, so a homeowner might not realize that the deadly gas is seeping into the house until it is too late. ''We found out you could get fatal blood levels from carbon monoxide in as little as 30 minutes,'' he said, adding that 36 people died last year as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators.

''And,'' he said, ''every one of those deaths was preventable.''