MILLSTONE — During a power outage, a generator can make the difference between inconvenience and misery.
Having a backup generator to power electric appliances can save perishable food and medications in refrigerators and freezers, keep water from rising in a basement with a sump pump, maintain the water in wells and septics, and heat a building in the winter.
At the Sept. 7 Township Committee meeting, the governing body discussed forming a cooperative through which residents could purchase personal generators at a reasonable price.
After Hurricane Irene landed in town on Aug. 27 and 28, various parts of the town lost power for multiple days. Mayor Nancy Grbelja, whose home went without electricity for six days, said she received many calls from residents without power after the storm. Grbelja said five different power plants service the township.
The mayor proposed forming a committee to see if the township could purchase generators at a reduced rate and sell them to residents.
“Let interested people do a group buyon,” she said, estimating that 100 to 150 residents should be interested.
Township Attorney Duane Davison said his research indicates that the state would ultimately decide whether the township could make such purchases.
“The alternative is a cooperative, with a quantity discount,” Davison said.
Grbelja said the township should move quickly because winter is coming.
“We can’t have another situation like we had this time,” she said, referring to days after Hurricane Irene.
While the storm may have been the catalyst for the proposal, Committeeman Bob Kinsey said that power outages are common in the township. He said the last time large areas of the township lost electricity for a significant period of time was two years ago in the winter, when power was out for a few days and many residents and businesses had problems with frozen pipes. He noted a pattern of unusually severe weather occurring throughout the country, including a tornado in the township several weeks ago, and said the town should prepare for more catastrophic storms coming through the region.
“We must collectively think how we are going to address severe storms,” he said.
Kinsey said residents should prepare in advance.
“I don’t mean fend for yourselves, but think of what you can do in the face of an oncoming storm,” he said.