Businesses, residents scramble for power

Thousands of people stood in line for the coveted contraptions, paying anywhere from several hundred dollars to more than $1,000.

By midweek, the gas-guzzling drone of generators had displaced the frigid stillness of the blackout. And as the prospect of several days without power became evident, an increasing demand for generators led to a rapidly dwindling supply.

On Jan. 17, Bass Pro Shops received a shipment of 400 generators, 300 of which were 4,500-watt units retailing for $499. The remaining 100 were 3,500-watt units with an electrical start feature that sold for $549 each.

The majority of the units were sold within 24 hours, and Outdoor World general manager Jim Osborne wasn’t sure if Bass Pro would be receiving another shipment once the stock was depleted.

“Our vendor is currently pretty well dry on his inventory,” he said. “They don’t have enough to get us more.”

Grainger Industrial Supply has sold more than 1,000 generators and still has more than 600 in stock, said Robb Kristopher, a company spokesman, who noted that prices on emergency products were the same before and after the storm. The Grainger branch at 808 N. Cedarbrook Ave. also extended its hours to handle the high demand.

As area residents fanned out in search of generators, several businesses without electricity were on the hunt for a portable power source that would allow them to keep their doors open. Many of them turned to Central Power Systems & Services.

“It’s been nonstop since Saturday,” said branch manager Terry Piotrowicz.

Springfield Remanufacturing, Dillon’s, Associated Wholesale Grocers, the U.S. Postal Service and several Domino’s Pizza branches were among the businesses that rented commercial-grade generators from Central Power, Piotrowicz said.

“Right now, I think I have 38 rental units out,” he said in a Jan. 17 interview, noting that five more units were in transit. “That’s just unheard of.”

The standard generator for commercial customers is a 650-kilowatt unit that can be rented on a daily or weekly basis. But Piotrowicz thinks the severity of the ice storm and the subsequent paralysis will prompt many of his customers to buy their own generator.

“I think we’ll get quite a few sales out of this,” he said.

Despite the amount of money changing hands for generators, at least one out-of-state businessman who traveled to Springfield sold fewer than 10 of the 100 2,700-watt units he hauled from Arkansas.

On Jan. 16, Dan Harness, owner of Dan’s RV Sales in Harrison, Ark., set up shop in front of Meyer Communications on East Chestnut Expressway, where he sold the units for $495 apiece, tax included. Harness said he spoke to at least one customer who looked at a similar unit from a street-corner vendor for twice the price.

“There’s people a’ gouging people,” he said. “I don’t know why they take a catastrophe like this and then try to do that.”

The demand for generators has a distinct downside. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office warned consumers to be on the lookout for price gouging, and local law enforcement agencies reported a rise in generator theft late in the week. Some were stolen from railroad crossings, authorities said.

Using a lock and chain to secure generators to heavy or stationary objects can deter would-be thieves, and police encouraged victims to report thefts by calling 911.

Legally speaking, gouging is defined as profiteering from necessities after a natural disaster, said Travis Ford, consumer education coordinator in the Missouri attorney general’s office, pointing to a recent case involving Farmington generator dealer Precision Equipment. The attorney general recovered almost $38,000 in restitution from Precision Equipment after the company allegedly sold generators for nearly twice their values to eastern Missouri residents following an ice storm in late November.

To report suspected price gouging, call the state’s Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 392-8222.