TAMPA, Fla. — Generac, a leading manufacturer of generators, expects residential demand to continue rising in storm impacted areas, and its hiring hundreds of employees as a result.

Tampa Bay area companies and Pinellas County building officials are seeing the surge in demand locally with a 50% spike in approved residential permits in 2024 compared to the prior year.

“Folks were without power for weeks and even months, in some cases,” said Mike Hoffman, the owner of Hoffman Electrical & AC.

“Additionally, it may not be a hurricane situation because some elderly individuals living on oxygen or needing other medical devices need back-up power to avoid a life-threatening scenario,” Hoffman continued.

Serving the Tampa Bay area for nearly 40 years, Hoffman says his company is busier than ever when it comes to installations of whole house standby units as homeowners get ready for the next storm.

“More and more people are coming forward and saying, ‘Hey we need to do this — we need to prepare,” Hoffman said.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people wait until after the hurricane like a lot of people did this time. So, they're realizing this isn't something that may happen again. It's going to happen. We live in Florida. But the beautiful part about these generators is that when the power goes out, it immediately comes back on and energizes your entire home.”

There are several residential generator options — portable and permanent — that range in price from hundreds of dollars to more than $30,000, on average.

Never operate a generator indoors or in partially enclosed spaces.

The location outside must be a safe distance from the home and in a well-ventilated area to prevent exposure to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.