Wilma was a hurricane that refused to play by the rules, strengthening when it was supposed to weaken on its way to South Florida, landing near Naples with 125 mph winds. The hurricane slacked off a bit while speeding across a 150-mile span of the state, but Wilma still slung three-digit wind gusts and 1 to 3 inches of rain with gusts of wind ranging from 105 mph in Greenacres and central Palm Beach County to 123 mph on Key Biscayne, off Miami. If South Floridians felt there was nowhere to hide from Wilma, they were right. What made Wilma unique here was its wide destructive power, causing almost universal power outages and major damage in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, which have traditionally taken turns bearing the brunt of previous storms.

It was the fifth major hurricane, defined as one with winds of 111 mph or greater, to hit Florida in 19 months.

Authorities promised relief efforts, President Bush declared Florida a major disaster area the Monday after the storm had passed and damages had been assessed. National Guard troops were mobilized to provide aid to locals along with trucks of water, ice and food.

Thousands of local and out-of-state utility crews were made ready to hit streets around the state as soon as the storm passed in order to restore most basic utilities and services in the area, even with these crew the repairs would take weeks and power would be out 7-10 days for the fortunate ones. Some were waiting for weeks.

Gas Stations, Banks, Supermarkets were all without power and so unable to assist the public by providing basic supplies. Although several other states in the U.S had passed laws requiring businesses to be prepared with back-up power incase of emergency and therefore able to provide assistance to both rescue crews and civilians; Florida Gas stations, Banks and Supermarkets who had experience with past storm effects, did not think of generators of any kind and therefore saw their businesses looted, their perishables spoiled and their networks and databases damaged.

Four weeks after Wilma FPL was still promising power to several counties and areas which had taken the worse of the storm. By this time generators were unavailable or crews were already busy working on other homes.

Officials warned that it might take four weeks to fix all outages. More than 90 percent of FPL customers in Palm Beach County were without power, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami residents also saw widespread outages.
Because of the extensive outages, many South Florida cities remained under curfew from 7 p.m to 7 a.m
A Stand-by Generator provides the everyday business owner with a secure and reliable way to protect the storefront and goods. Security systems, refrigerators, video surveillance and lights are all available and therefore deter looting or vandalism; All done for the same cost and space as a central A/C unit.

A stand-by generator that runs the whole house relatively efficiently is a 20 kilowatt version, with an automatic load-shifting device; a whole house is powered with a smaller, less expensive generator that uses less fuel. The package, including installation and propane tank usually costs about $20,000 to $25,000 and takes about one or two months for permits and installation. A17-kilowatt version is among the more popular generators with the amount of power sufficient for a home of about 3,000 square feet.
Accessories also are available for generators, among them remote monitoring systems that allow the owner to use a laptop to turn the generator on or off, even while away from home. If service is required, the generator sends e-mails or text messages.

Whether you’re at home or away, your standby generator is ready to assume control of your electrical needs whenever a power outage occurs. Within seconds, back-up electricity is provided to your home or business, restoring essential items such as lights, climate control, refrigeration, etc.

Unlike a portable generator, you don’t have to go outside, run a maze of extension cords or bother with gasoline, because an automatic standby generator operates on your LP or natural gas supply. Once utility power returns, the generator automatically shuts down and waits for the next outage.

Owning a standby generator has never been more convenient or affordable. Only you can protect your home, your business, belongings, and most importantly, your family’s safety by owning a standby generator.