Portable generators should be part of everyone's emergency preparedness plans especially for those who intend to stay to ride out a storm or for first responders who need to set up shop on the fly. When we speak of portable generators here, we also include gasoline and diesel generators and alternative fuel generators such as hydrogen fuel cell generators as well. Portable generators of any kind that produce electricity are necessary when riding out an emergency and in the aftermath of an emergency. Electricity is critical for any emergency situation.

Who needs electricity from portable generators? In an emergency, emergency personnel and the buildings they work at and sleep at need electricity so that they may do their work. Hospitals, police stations, fire stations and the obvious one, gasoline stations need gasoline-powered and diesel-powered electric generators.

Hurricane Wilma is a great example of this. When the buzz saw of Hurricane Wilma swept through Florida in October, 2005 millions of people were left without power afterwards. This is understandable because of the scale of the storm. But, what is beyond comprehension is that they gasoline stations could not dispense fuel to emergency supply trucks and civilians because they did not have electricity. What makes more sense than gasoline stations having gasoline-powered portable generators so that they have the electricity needed to supply the fuel needed to emergency personnel and others who are needing fuel as well?

Portable generators should be Federally mandated equipment for all fueling stations within high risk geographical areas. Portable generators should also be mandated for hospitals and other emergency-related buildings as well.

With the public interested in hybrid-electric vehicles recently, it must be noted that several trucks by General Motors and Dodge have the capacity to serve as gasoline or diesel-electric generators as needed for non-emergency and emergency situations alike.