Generator Price Too Much for Some Small Businesses
The price tag of a commercial generator can exceed $50,000, "The Washington Post" reported.
After the June 29 derecho left Chevy Chase Supermarket without power for several days, Jason and Kevin Kirsch, co-owners of the family-run supermarket, tried to save the store's goods by moving them into a refrigerated trailer outside the store, Patch reported.
But, when the trailer's power went out, the goods were all lost. The store's estimated loses were $100,000, Jason Kirsch told The Washington Post.
Still, the Kirsches won't be purchasing an electricity generator for the store—it's too expensive, Jason Kirsch added to The Post.
"The cost for a commercial generator can exceed $50,000," The Post quoted expert Dale Davis as saying. Davis is president of CMI Solar & Electric, a Newark, Del.-based company that serves customers in Maryland, The Post reported.
Commercial generators' large size and loud noise—which could violate some noise ordinances—present additional problems, Davis added to The Post.
Read more about commercial electricity generators—and how demand for them has changed after the derecho—on The Post's website.
Todd Jasper
6:38 am on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
$50,000 for a commercial generator is expensive--but $100,000 of lost produce is even worse. Mitigating risk is a complex process and can include insurance, standby contracts for portable generators, emergency fuel deliveries, etc.