#GenerateAction: Save Portable Generators
Make your voice heard before it is too late. It’s easy.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has proposed a rule that would effectively ban portable generators on store shelves. They say it’s about protecting people from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning – but it ignores an industry-wide standard – which includes built-in CO detection and automatic shut-offs – that already protects against 98.3% of CO incidents.
Let’s take a look at the facts.
- CPSC position: They claim the current voluntary standard is ineffective and not followed.
- FACT: Manufacturers embrace a voluntary standard (ANSI/ PGMA G300). Units have a CO monitor and shutdown system, well-established performance safety requirements, and clear warnings to never operate generators indoors. These solutions are +98% effective and the majority of portable generators come with this technology. The overwhelming compliance with a voluntary standard WAS NOT considered by CPSC in its rule-making.
- CPSC position: They feel it can regulate products without following statutory requirements.
- FACT: The CPSC is required by law to rely on voluntary safety standards when it adequately addresses the product hazard and is likely to have substantial compliance – which ANSI/PGMA G300 does. The CPSC has not followed procedural guidelines for a mandatory standard.
- CPSC position: They believe their proposal will save lives.
- FACT: The CPSC changes actually put consumers at risk.
- CPSC position: They believe limiting CO emissions further has no negative consequences.
- FACT: Industry testing concludes that the CPSC changes would force portable generators’ exhaust temperatures to over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Extreme temperatures that could prompt house fires, lead to burns, and threaten users’ safety.
Our industry has ALWAYS taken safe use of our products seriously.
It’s why the Portable Generator Manufacturers’ Association (PGMA) created and actively promoted the TAKE IT OUTSIDE™ campaign (www.takeyourgeneratoroutside.com) to make it easy for consumers to remember proper usage guidelines for portable generators. We also created the ANSI-accredited G300 safety standard in which all portable generators are equipped with a CO detector and automatic shut-off.