Huge surge in demand for back-up power generators

FEARS of power shortages are leading to a run on electricity generators, retail managers across the country have said.

Industry insiders told the Irish Daily Mail they were experiencing a surge in demand for generators, with one manager saying inquiries had increased tenfold.

The rush followed Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan telling radio listeners yesterday morning that he could not absolutely rule out electricity blackouts this winter.

‘I have noticed a huge increase in sales over the past couple of months, from smaller domestic sets to big industry generators,’ said Gary O’Shaughnessy, director of emergency power retailer De Power Solutions Limited.

Mr O’Shaughnessy said the phones were ‘jammed’ yesterday following Mr Ryan’s comments.

He said sales were driven by the ‘fear factor’ – with customers looking for back-up power in case of outages. Customers wanted generators for domestic properties, nursing homes and even businesses including Tesco.

‘Last week we sold about 20 units to domestic customers that typically cost between €1,000 and €100,000 each, including petrol, diesel and gas generator sets,’ said Mr O’Shaughnessy.

He stated that ‘normally we would sell between four or five a month’, adding. ‘We have been in business since 1983 and have never seen such a high demand for stand-by generators.’

Mr O’Shaughnessy continued: ‘Of late, we are seeing a huge level of enquiries from very worried domestic customers, driven by the potential threat of power outages in Ireland.’

He added that ‘it’s great for us but bad for everyone else’.

Generator sales at Diesel Electric Power in Co. Meath have also experienced a boom.

Martin Brennan, co-director at the company, told the Mail: ‘We have definitely seen increased demand for generators over the past couple of weeks.’

He said most sales related to domestic generators.

This was echoed by sales adviser Aaron Lynch at Irish Garage Equipment, Ireland’s leading online retailer of garage equipment. He said: ‘I’ve had 20 phone calls about generators today. We’ve been flooded [with calls] since Monday, I don’t know what is going on.

‘People are expecting power cuts for a bad winter and want generators for their homes.’