Interest in Permanent Generators Peaks After Sandy

Northport's interest in permanent generators has peaked since Hurricane Sandy, said Village Building Inspector Loary Gunn.

Permanent generators hook up to a home's gas or propane supply. They offer convenience, but come with a high price tag of up to $20,000 when factoring in installation of a gas line and associated costs, according to Gunn.

Around December, the village began receiving a deluge of inquiries from residents about permits for permanent generators.

"I went from having three applications for generators in 10 years to having about 30 in less than three months," Gunn said. "It's been quite feverish."

To streamline the process, the village is presenting a "package deal" of the building and plumbing permit needed to install a permanent generator. The approach allows homeowners to avoid future headaches, said Gunn.

"You don't want to give someone a plumbing permit to do gas work if they're proposing a generator in a place that may not be approved for a variance," Gunn said. "A lot of people don't want them in their backyards, they want them on the side of the house."

The Village Zoning Board considers a permanent generator an accessory structure mainly because they make noise and generate exhaust. Application instructions are available on the village's website.

Nearly one million homes lost power across Long Island during Hurricane Sandy, many of them for an extended period of time. Those who had portable generators still had to brave outrageous gas lines during the subsequent gas crisis.

Gunn said people who went through the outages following Sandy are looking to prepare for future occurrences.

"Now that we've had hurricanes two years in a row and a major snowstorm people are concerned," Gunn said.