POTTSVILLE, Pa. — It's the sound you want to hear if you lose power in your home—the whirring of a standby generator. The product is becoming more and more popular.
"Good luck if you can find them. But if you place the order early, don't hesitate. If you decide, 'Hey, I want this thing, place your order, and hopefully, it'll happen," said Bob McBreen, the manager at Fromm Electric Supply in Pottsville.
McBreen doesn't have any standby generators in stock right now.
"If you had 'em, you'd sell 'em fast. They'd be gone."
Part of the reason for the soaring demand is the number of people working from home. A power outage is more of a headache if you're relying on that power to do your job.
McBreen points to another problem—the beetles killing ash trees across Pennsylvania, which are then knocking out power.
"This ash tree (problem) is really bad. You've probably seen it in your travels. You see the limbs hanging down, you think, 'Boy, that's going to go.' All you need is a good windstorm to give it a little push, and they're down."
And we've certainly had our fair share of storms this year.
"With the utility companies running so tight, they're just so busy running and helping other states, the time frame to get there is sometimes three to four days."
Manufacturers can't keep up with the demand.
The company Fromm Electric Supply works with has said more generators likely won't be available until the spring.
"I'll keep my fingers crossed. I think it's going to be more like the second quarter before we actually see it. I think things are improving a little bit, but some of the parts are getting tougher to find."
So if you're looking for some backup power, it's going to require some patience.