Climate Changed
Backup Power Suppliers Gain as California Utilities Kill Lights
- Sunrun, Generac see increased interest in home generators
- Millions of PG&E customers may lose power to prevent wildfires
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One of the rare beneficiaries of an unprecedented blackout that threatened to plunge more than 3 million Californians into darkness this week: the backup power business.
Suppliers of backup, diesel-fired generators, solar panels, batteries and fuel cells are seeing a sales opportunity in massive power shutoffs across the San Francisco Bay Area. Home solar provider Sunrun Inc. said hundreds of customers were spared from recent planned shutoffs because of their solar panels and batteries -- and it expects that to number to be in the thousands after this week’s blackout.