New backup generator in place at Auburn police department

A new replacement backup generator is now in place at the Auburn Police Department. The Auburn City Council on Feb. 24 voted unanimously to replace the previous generator that was in use for almost a decade. According to Auburn City Manager Sean Rabé, the new standby generator came out to $57,436. Auburn Police Chief Bryan Morrison said PG&E conducted tests of the previous generator in early February, which found it wasn't as dependable as it needed to be in case of an emergency. "The generator that we had was beyond its life span," Morrison said. "I've been here eight years and it's been here the whole time. I don't know how old it actually was." The generator is only used in the event the department loses power due to weather conditions or unforeseen emergencies. "This sits here ... 99 percent of the time," Morrison said of the generator. "If this region or this specific area on PG&E's map loses power, then this kicks on and supplies the power to the building." Morrison said the backup generator was installed Friday. Said Morrison, "To run a 911 dispatch center in the event of a power outage, given that it wasn't dependent itself, we needed to replace it with something that we knew would function at any moment's time when the area is susceptible in losing power."