Permanent Generators Could Be Lifesaver

By Jennifer Loren, News On 6

TULSA, OK -- For many in the Northeast Oklahoma, any chance of ice brings back a lot of miserable memories of last December's ice storm.

Now some are taking steps to make sure if it happens again, they're power ready.

Last December, many turned to portable generators to keep the lights on and stay warm. But this year some are preparing themselves with permanently installed generators.

The News On 6 found one company trying to keep up with orders.

If you were one of the lucky ones last year, you had a portable generator to keep the some lights on. Ginette Overall was one of those people, but she doesn't really count herself as lucky.

"You can't run your whole house on a portable. You can pick a few appliances and some lights maybe and maybe your TV," said Overall.

Overall wanted something better. She began looking into permanent generators. She and her husband thought they were so useful they bought a franchise and started their own business in Tulsa called Power Ready.

"So I thought well if I want one and I could use one, other people could too. And they really have. They've wanted a lot of them here lately," said Overall.

With icy precipitation in the forecast these generators have been a hot commodity.

"Some people have just actually called up in a panic. Some people went without for so long they don't want to do it again," said Overall.

But with an average price near $10,000 they're really a luxury item.

Here's why:

"We can power the entire home. We can power one room up. We can power up two rooms, half your home, basically whatever you want. We custom fit them to the home," said Gabriel Schlef.

Permanent generators run off your home's gas line or propane. All you have to do is have it installed and never worry about it again.

"It's one less thing to worry about. You know everything's going to be powered up. You've got animals in the home. If you've got maybe an elderly loved one that's home by herself there's no worries what-so-ever," said Schlef.

Again, these generators are very expensive compared with the portable ones. But if you remember last year and you've got $10,000 laying around. It could be well spent on one of those.