Greenville remembers Floyd
Hurricane Floyd came through in September 1999, right behind Hurricane Dennis, and dropped 20 to 30 inches of rain on the Greenville area in less than a day. The Tar River crested at 29.74 feet in Greenville, past the 500-year flood mark. Neighborhoods along the river were under water for days, and the utility crews at Greenville Utilities Commission worked around the clock for more than a week to keep service going.
Most outages in Greenville are shorter than that. A tropical storm, a line of summer thunderstorms or a winter ice event can still knock the power out for a day or two, and a long outage in August heat is hard on a household. A standby generator starts on its own seconds after the power drops and keeps the house running until the lines are back up.
One utility for power and gas
Greenville is unusual in eastern NC: one local utility, Greenville Utilities Commission (GUC), provides electric, water, sewer and natural gas. That matters for a generator in two ways:
- Natural gas is often already at the house. GUC gas runs throughout Greenville and into parts of Pitt County, including Winterville, Ayden and areas out along NC 11, Stantonsburg Road and toward Simpson and Grimesland. If you have gas service, the generator can run on it with no tank to fill. Some homes need a larger meter, which the installer arranges.
- Propane outside the gas lines. Farther out in the county, propane is the usual fuel. A properly sized tank can run a generator for days.
Whichever company supplies your electricity, GUC, Duke Energy Progress or an electric co-op in the rural parts of the county, the automatic transfer switch isolates your house from the grid so the generator never feeds power back onto lines crews are repairing. See propane and natural gas generators for run times and tank sizes.
What Greenville homeowners want powered
- Central air or heat pumps through late-summer outages
- Refrigerators and chest freezers
- Well pumps and sump pumps outside the city system
- Medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators
- Home offices, internet and work-from-home setups
- Security systems and garage doors
You can cover the whole house or a chosen list of essential circuits. The installer runs a load calculation at the free site visit and recommends a size. More on whole house generators and Generac installation, including what a whole house generator costs.
Rental houses and older neighborhoods
Greenville has a lot of older homes near downtown and the university, and a lot of rentals. Older houses sometimes need a panel update before a transfer switch can go in, and the installer checks this at the site visit and includes it in the quote. If you own a rental, ask about a generator sized for the essentials; tenants with medical equipment or a home business are often the ones who ask for one.
Communities we serve around Greenville
Greenville, Winterville, Ayden, Grimesland, Simpson, Bethel, Farmville, Fountain, Grifton and Bell Arthur, along US 264, US 13, NC 11, NC 33 and NC 43. We also handle generator repair and maintenance and transfer switches for portable generators across Pitt County.
Common questions
Can my generator run on GUC natural gas?
Usually, if gas service already reaches your house. Natural gas is available from GUC throughout Greenville and in parts of Pitt County. Some homes need a meter upgrade to supply the generator, which the installer coordinates.
Who issues the permit for a generator in Greenville?
Inside the city, the City of Greenville's Inspections Division handles building, electrical and mechanical permits. Outside the city, the county issues them. The installer pulls the electrical permit and any gas permit and schedules the inspections.
Does a standby generator work with GUC electric service?
Yes. The transfer switch connects the same way with any power company and keeps the generator from sending power back onto the utility's lines.