Onslow County took the brunt of Florence
When Hurricane Florence came ashore in September 2018, Onslow County was one of the hardest-hit places in North Carolina. Days after landfall, more than half of the county's cell towers were still off the air, flooded roads made it hard for crews to get through, and the power company warned that restoring service in the hardest-hit areas could take weeks, not days.
A storm like that doesn't come every year, but tropical storms, nor'easters and summer thunderstorms knock the power out across Onslow County more often than most people would like. A standby generator starts on its own seconds after the power drops and keeps the house running until the lines are back up.
Families who can't wait it out
Jacksonville is a military town, built around Camp Lejeune and New River, and that shapes who asks for a generator:
- Families with a spouse deployed who don't want to be fighting a portable generator and extension cords alone in a storm.
- Retirees who settled near the base, often with medical equipment that has to stay on.
- People working from home who can't go offline for a week.
- Homeowners with wells and septic pumps out toward Richlands, Hubert and Sneads Ferry.
A standby generator needs no one to go outside in the wind to start or refuel it. If you're away, it still runs.
Power company and fuel
Electric service around Jacksonville is split. Some homes are on Duke Energy Progress, and much of the surrounding county is served by Jones-Onslow EMC, the electric co-op. Your power bill tells you which you have. Either way, the automatic transfer switch disconnects your house from the grid before the generator connects, so no power flows back onto lines crews are repairing.
Natural gas reaches parts of Jacksonville, but most homes in the county run a generator on propane. A properly sized tank can run a generator for days, and it can be topped off before hurricane season. Near the sound and the creeks, the tank has to be anchored so it can't float in a flood. See propane and natural gas generators.
What Jacksonville homeowners want powered
- Central air or heat pumps through late-summer outages
- Refrigerators and freezers
- Well and septic pumps outside the city system
- Oxygen concentrators and other medical equipment
- Home offices and internet
- Garage doors and security systems
Cover the whole house or a set of essential circuits; the installer runs a load calculation and recommends a size. More on whole house generators, Generac installation and what a whole house generator costs.
Communities we serve around Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Piney Green, Half Moon, Hubert, Richlands, Swansboro, Sneads Ferry, Holly Ridge, Maysville and Belgrade, along US 17, US 258, NC 24 and NC 53. We also handle generator repair and maintenance and transfer switches for portable generators here.
Common questions
Who issues the generator permit in Jacksonville?
Inside the city limits, the City of Jacksonville issues building and electrical permits. Outside the city, Onslow County Building Inspections does. The installer pulls the permits and schedules the inspections.
Can I get a generator installed if I rent or I'm stationed here short term?
A permanent standby generator needs the homeowner's approval because it is wired into the house and set on a pad. If you rent, a portable generator with a properly installed transfer switch or interlock kit is often the better fit, and that also needs the owner's OK.
Does a generator work with Jones-Onslow EMC or Duke Energy Progress service?
Yes. The transfer switch connects the same way with either provider and keeps the generator from sending power back onto the utility's lines.