PETERBOROUGH - Preparing for the coming snowstorm has caused the usual run on generators, said Belletetes' Peterborough store manager Cliff Pelissier. But unless you are capable of hardwiring the generator to your house or have an electrician on standby for the job, it's a pretty impractical purchase just before a big storm, he said.



"My guess is that every electrician in this area is on call right now," he said, so if you bought a generator you could be hard-pressed to have it hard-wired before the storm hits today.

Unless of course you are up for the job yourself, he said. "It really should be hard-wired. If you're able and smart about what you are doing you should be OK," he said.

The hardware store sold seven or eight generators Thursday as locals rushed to prepare for a possible power outage caused by the storm. Belletetes' Jaffrey location sold out of generators Thursday and sent several customers to Peterborough, Pelissier said.

The store had four generators left on Friday afternoon, and Pelissier anticipates another rush of customers this morning before the storm hits.

Along with generators, customers were also buying salt, ice melt, shovels, lamp oil and generator oil. Father and son Mark and 4-year-old Charlie Damata of Hancock came in to buy fire starters and batteries.

Pelissier said, although the storm won't be fun, it's a relief to him to sell all of the winter storm items that had been stocked for the season. "We haven't had a big storm since last October," he said.