California Is Helping Buy Batteries to Keep Lights on During Fires

(Bloomberg) -- Energy storage companies have been marketing their batteries for months as a way for Californians to keep the lights during wildfire season. Now the state is putting money behind the idea.

California regulators decided Thursday to set aside $100 million to help low-income and vulnerable residents, as well as hospitals, fire departments and police stations, install storage systems in areas prone to wildfires. The move comes as utilities including PG&E Corp. are increasingly cutting service on windy and dry days to keep their equipment from sparking the kinds of deadly blazes that devastated parts of Northern California in 2017 and 2018.

The alternative is back-up diesel generation. And backup generator manufacturer Generac Holdings Inc. has already seen an uptick in business. In a conference call earlier this month, the company estimated the potential of California’s market at $1 billion over the next 10 years.

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