Sales Surge for Generators, Flashlights

Sales of generators and flashlights surged Thursday as wary Ventura County residents prepared for the threat of blackouts that rolled through other areas of the state for a second day.

At a Target store in Camarillo, 4-H instructor Jan Gullickson snapped up every $1.99 flashlight and battery pack on the shelf as gifts for the 30 middle school students in her life skills class.

“I want it kept near their beds so they’ll have them for the blackouts,” she said. “I want to make sure the children are prepared.”

Bob Trainer, who had a 45-year career at Southern California Edison before retiring in 1985, was also snapping up flashlights. His wife, Cathy, works at a hospice in Camarillo, Trainer said, and he bought four heavy-duty units in case blackouts occur after dark.

“They want to be able to do their counseling sessions at night and not fear ending up in the dark,” he said.

Trainer said he blames the generating plants for shutting down units for maintenance at a time when energy is sorely needed.

“They are pirates,” Trainer, 71, said of plant operators.

Marty Kucia, owner of Power Equipment Center in Oxnard, said generator sales were brisk as well.

“I’ve sold nine already today--usually a good day is one or two,” Kucia said at 2 p.m. By 3:30, he had sold three more at $700 to $3,000 each.

Officials at Edison reported no blackouts in the county as of late Thursday afternoon, except for customers who endure voluntary power reductions during peak periods in exchange for reduced rates.

Those customers include the Ventura County Government Center, where some court proceedings were cut short and jurors were forced to walk several flights of stairs because elevators were down.

A Stage 3 emergency was expected to remain in effect today, meaning that power could go down temporarily at any time.

Mike Keys of Oxnard, whose painting business relies on electric sprayers and rollers, said he fears that rolling blackouts will be common in the months ahead.

“I think there’s going to be more outages with these companies on the verge of bankruptcy,” he said of the state’s utility providers.

That is what drew him to Kucia’s generator shop Thursday to look for a portable unit he can keep in his truck in case power goes out in the middle of a job.

“When I get stuck in someone’s house and I’m halfway through and the power goes out, what am I going to do?” he said. “I just want to be prepared.”

On top of blackouts, Keys and others said they are bracing for rate increases.

Manufacturers and installers of solar power panels say that fear is helping their business.

“We’ve got 500 people on the waiting list in Los Angeles and 30 to 40 households on the waiting list in Ventura County,” said Greg Johanson, owner of Solar Electrical Systems in Thousand Oaks.

“We’ve had three to four times as many calls and twice as many deposits as in a typical season,” he added. “Typically, we may have 10 to 15 purchases in the first three weeks of the year. This year, we’ve had 30.”

Raju Yenamandra, sales and marketing director for Camarillo-based Siemens Solar Industries, said California’s power crisis is translating to “a lot more phone calls, a lot more interest.” The company is the world’s highest-volume producer of solar cells, he said.

Siemens sells prepackaged solar power kits that are hooked up to electric grids and reduce the mount of electricity used in homes and businesses. Prices start at about $16,000.

The system is supposed to save homeowners an average of $700 a year on their electric bills, based on current utility rates, he said.

Of course, he noted, the solar grid systems don’t work when the power is down.

But the company also sells a solar backup system that functions much as a generator and is used in conjunction with the solar grid product, he said.

The backup system can store enough solar energy to run a refrigerator, computer, television and lights for seven hours.

Times staff photographer Anne Cusack contributed to this story.

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