Portland Maine Generators
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Greater Portland, Maine

Standby Generator Installation & Service in Portland, Maine

When the next nor'easter takes CMP down for three days, your lights stay on, your furnace keeps running, and your sump pump keeps pumping. Whole-house Generac and Kohler systems, sized right and installed by Maine-licensed electricians. Free estimates.

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  • Maine-licensed electricians
  • Generac & Kohler systems
  • Free estimates
Farmhouse with every window glowing warm during a nighttime snowstorm while neighboring homes sit dark
The whole pitch in one picture: the lights stayed on

What we handle

Generator Services for Greater Portland Homes

From the first sizing visit to the annual service that keeps the warranty valid, every part of owning a standby generator is covered: installation, service, repair, and honest advice about what your house actually needs.

Why here, why now

Greater Portland Loses Power. A Lot.

Ask anyone who lived through the October 2017 wind storm, the 2023 December storm that left hundreds of thousands of CMP customers dark for days, or any given January ice event: extended outages are not a rare emergency in southern Maine, they're a season. Coastal wind finds the lines, wet snow loads the trees over them, and the grid that serves Cumberland County goes down hard, usually in the worst week of the year for it.

And a Maine house doesn't just get dark in an outage. The furnace stops, and pipes start freezing within hours in a January cold snap. The well pump stops, so there's no water. The sump pump stops, which is how a spring storm turns into a flooded basement and a mold problem. Add a freezer full of food, a home office that's now your actual office, and medical equipment in more homes every year, and an outage stopped being an inconvenience a long time ago.

A whole-house standby system makes all of that a non-event. The power blinks once, the generator picks the house up in seconds, and life continues while the neighbors hunt for gas cans. That's the entire pitch. The machines are proven, the fuel is already at your house, and the install is a one-day job for a licensed crew.

Ice-encased tree fallen across sagging power lines over a rural Maine road after freezing rain
Why the grid here fails: the most forested state in the nation, with the lines running under the trees. Freezing rain does the rest.

How it works

From First Call to First Outage

  1. Call and describe your house

    Heat type, water source, square footage, what absolutely can't lose power. Five minutes gets the conversation started.

  2. Free on-site estimate

    A Maine-licensed electrician walks the house, sizes the load, checks the fuel situation, and hands you a written number. Free.

  3. Install day

    Pad set, generator placed, fuel line run, transfer switch wired, permits and inspection handled. Most homes are done in a day.

  4. Storm-ready, automatically

    The system self-tests weekly and takes over in seconds when the grid drops. Annual service keeps it that way, year after year.

Straight answers

Whole House, or Just the Essentials?

Not every home needs the biggest cabinet on the spec sheet, and an honest sizing visit sometimes saves thousands. A few rules of thumb:

  • Essentials-only coverage (heat, well pump, sump pump, refrigeration, some lights and outlets) keeps a Maine house safe and livable through a multi-day outage at the lowest cost.
  • Whole-house coverage means you genuinely don't notice the outage: every circuit, including the dryer, the range, and the heat pumps. Most popular in larger homes and for work-from-home households.
  • Heat pumps change the math. If your home heats with heat pumps, sizing has to account for their startup loads. This is exactly the kind of thing that separates a licensed generator installer from a guy with a catalog.
  • Fuel first. Natural gas service makes runtime unlimited; propane sizing has to match tank capacity to realistic outage lengths. Both work; they're just planned differently.
  • Oversizing wastes money twice: more up front, and more fuel every hour it runs. Right-sized beats big every time.

The cost guide breaks down real installed prices for both approaches, and the free estimate visit settles it for your actual house.

Common questions

Generator FAQs

How much does a whole-house generator cost installed?

Most whole-house standby installations in Greater Portland land between $8,000 and $15,000 all-in: the generator itself, the automatic transfer switch, the concrete or composite pad, gas line work, electrical work by a Maine-licensed electrician, permits, and startup. Smaller essentials-only systems cost less; large homes with big electrical loads cost more. The free estimate visit produces a real number for your house, and our cost guide explains every line item.

Generac or Kohler: which is better for Maine?

Both are excellent, proven cold-climate machines, and both are installed and serviced here. Generac owns the biggest dealer and parts network in the country, which matters when you need a part during an ice storm. Kohler runs quieter and is built like a commercial machine. The honest answer is that correct sizing and quality installation matter more than the badge on the cabinet.

How fast does a standby generator kick in when the power goes out?

About 10 to 20 seconds from outage to full power, automatically, whether you're home or not. The transfer switch senses the outage, starts the generator, and moves your house onto backup power. When CMP restores the line, it switches back and shuts itself down. No extension cords, no gas cans, no going out in the storm.

Does a generator run on propane or natural gas?

Either. In Greater Portland, homes with natural gas service (much of Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook) usually tie into it: unlimited fuel, nothing to schedule. Everyone else runs on propane, typically a dedicated 250 to 500 gallon tank that gives days of runtime. Your fuel situation is one of the first things the free estimate visit sorts out.

Do standby generators need maintenance?

Yes, and skipping it is the number one reason generators fail when they're finally needed. They need annual service (oil, filters, plugs, battery, full test cycle), and manufacturers require documented maintenance to keep the warranty valid. That's what a maintenance plan handles: it's on the calendar, done before storm season, and off your mind.

Is the installer licensed and insured?

Yes. In Maine, generator installation is electrical work: the transfer switch and panel connections legally require a licensed electrician. All work arranged through this site is performed by an independent, Maine-licensed and fully insured local electrical contractor. You can verify any Maine electrician license through the state licensing board.

Maine homeowner guides

Backup Power, Explained Straight

The research questions people actually type at 2am during an outage, answered without the sales pitch.

Where we work

Serving All of Greater Portland

Based locally and serving homeowners throughout Cumberland and York counties:

  • Portland, ME
  • South Portland, ME
  • Westbrook, ME
  • Falmouth, ME
  • Cumberland, ME
  • Yarmouth, ME
  • Freeport, ME
  • Scarborough, ME
  • Cape Elizabeth, ME
  • Gorham, ME
  • Windham, ME
  • Saco, ME

Get a straight answer about backup power

Free estimate, honest sizing advice, and a Maine-licensed crew that installs and services the two best standby brands in the business.

Call (207) 506-0135
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