When Milton came through in October 2024, two weeks after Helene, much of the bay went days without power. The portable generators came out, and with them the extension cords through windows, and in some houses a cord plugged into the dryer outlet to “power the panel”.

That last one is the dangerous one. A generator can power a house properly, with the circuits that matter on it and nothing plugged into a wall outlet, but only through equipment made to keep it separate from the grid.

Why a dryer-outlet cord is dangerous

A cord with plugs on both ends, run from a generator into a dryer or range outlet, energizes the panel backward. With the main breaker on, that power flows out through the meter and onto the utility’s lines, where it is stepped up by the transformer to the voltage line crews work on. They may be working on a line they believe is dead. When the grid comes back, the generator and the house wiring take the hit too.

Both utilities say so. Duke Energy Florida’s generator safety page says it does not recommend connecting a generator directly to a breaker panel, fuse box or meter box because of the hazard to line workers, and that stationary or standby generators should be installed by a licensed electrician.

What Tampa Electric requires

Tampa Electric’s Standard Electrical Service Requirements are specific:

a standby generator needs an approved double-throw transfer switch, manual or automatic, installed after the meter, that breaks one position before making the other, so the house is on the grid or on the generator and never both;
standby generators and their equipment may not be connected to Tampa Electric’s system without prior approval;
a generator’s exhaust, permanent or temporary, has to be at least 15 feet from all Tampa Electric equipment, meters included.

Portable generators: inlet and transfer

The usual setup for a portable generator has two parts. Outside, an inlet box: a weatherproof receptacle on the wall where the generator’s cord plugs in. Inside, a way to switch circuits from the grid to the inlet.

That switch is either a transfer switch, which moves selected circuits from the utility to the generator, or a listed interlock kit on the main panel, which physically prevents the main breaker and the generator breaker from being on at the same time. Building departments around the bay inspect interlocks as the transfer means on many jobs; Tampa Electric’s requirements describe a double-throw transfer switch, so the electrician confirms what the utility and the city accept before choosing.

Either way it is a permitted job with an inspection.

Sizing: what runs and what waits

A generator’s running watts decide what it can carry; the starting surge of motors decides what it can start. The AC compressor is the big one. A 7,000- to 9,000-watt portable can usually carry the refrigerator, the lights, fans, the internet and a window unit or two; a central AC usually needs a larger unit, or a soft starter and careful load management. A standby unit can be sized for the whole house, including the AC, if the load calculation and the budget support it.

Make the list before the electrician comes: what has to run in an outage, and what can wait.

Standby generators

A standby generator sits on a pad outside, runs on natural gas or propane, starts on its own when the power fails, and switches the house over with an automatic transfer switch. It needs:

an electrical permit, and a gas permit for the fuel line;
a spot that meets the manufacturer’s and the code’s clearances from windows, doors, vents and the property line, plus Tampa Electric’s 15 feet from its equipment where it is the utility;
in a flood zone, placement at or above the required flood elevation;
in most newer subdivisions, the HOA’s approval of the location and screening.

Running a portable safely

Run it outside, away from doors, windows and vents, and never in the garage, even with the door open. Start the generator before moving the transfer to the generator side, and move it back to the utility before shutting the generator down when power returns. Refuel it cold.

After a flood, before anything is switched on

If the panel, the meter can or outlets were under water, they are not dried out and re-energized. NEMA’s guidance on water-damaged electrical equipment says breakers, GFCIs, arc-fault devices, surge protectors and wiring devices exposed to flood water are replaced. A generator does not change that: power a flooded panel and the damage is still there.

What to have ready when you call

Portable or standby, and the generator’s running watts or kW
What you want to keep running during an outage
The panel brand and where it is
Natural gas at the house, or propane
Your power company: Tampa Electric or Duke Energy Florida

Hooking a generator up safely in Tampa Bay after Helene and Milton