STORM UPDATE: La. to buy $20 million in generators for stores
September 4, 2008
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana is going to spend $20 million to buy 400 generators to help gas stations, pharmacies and grocery stores restart services after Hurricane Gustav blacked out much of the state’s power grid.
Gov. Bobby Jindal announced the plans today, saying it’s critical to get services up and running so people can buy fuel, food and water, ice and medicine. He says providing state-owned generators to private businesses has never been done before in the state.
The generators will go out first to the 28 parishes where 51 percent of homes and businesses don’t have power.
Jindal says he hopes the generators will be bought and deployed by this weekend.
They will be sent to the parish emergency centers, and local leaders will determine which stores and gas stations will get them.
I hope these are some superduper heavy duty generators for $50,000/generator.