Generators for Orange, TX: Three CES branches help recovery after Hurricane Laura

Before Hurricane Laura made landfall on the Texas and Louisiana coast, three City Electric Supply branches were there to help ahead of the storm.

CES Pasadena, CES Houston Northwest, and CES Katy teamed up to gather all of the generators they had left in stock and travel to Orange, Texas, which was just 30 minutes away from Lake Charles, Louisiana, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Laura.

“It all happened last minute,” CES Pasadena Branch Manager Grant Price said. “We talked about it the same day that the storms and hurricane were going to hit. It was better to get the generators there before everything happened. We didn’t want them to have to wait to recover from Hurricane Laura.”

District Manager Daren Thode, Houston Northwest Branch Manager Matt Dunn, Katy Branch Manager Ryan Phillips, and Pasadena Branch Manager Grant Price planned the quick trip that same day.

Setting Up Shop Before Hurricane Laura

The three branches packed up and hauled more than 40 generators to Orange, Texas. They set up in an empty parking lot in a residential area where homeowners could easily see them.

“Before we even parked, people stopped us to ask if we were selling them,” he said. “If someone didn’t need a generator, they were posting our location on Facebook. Everyone tried to help spread the word that we were there to help.”

And it worked. People were more than happy to see City Electric Supply. Leading up to Hurricane Laura, a lot of distributors in their area had run low on generators. Most people expected their power to be out for the next four weeks.

“I was just glad to help them stay on their feet,” Price said. “It’s sad to see the devastation that happened, but knowing that we helped get about 40 families up and running again was a good feeling.”

Price also mentioned that he’s going to plan what he stocks ahead of next year’s hurricane season since he’s so close to the coast.

“Everyone encouraged us to come back and even expand into Beaumont. Their appreciation of what we did for them was that big. They were just so grateful we went out of our way to help.”

For Price, he’s definitely going to do this again in the future, and he hopes that other branches do the same next year.

“I can relate to what they went through and are still going through,” Price said. “I encourage anyone and everyone to do what they can to help people affected by disaster. It’s not just a good thing to do, but it also shows that CES supports them and wants to help them stay safe and keep their power on when it matters most.”