Whole-home backup power
Standby generators that start before you notice the outage.
County Line Electric installs Generac automatic standby generators across Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties: sized to the house, permitted, connected to gas or propane and to the panel through an automatic transfer switch, and serviced twice a year. A written estimate follows the site visit.
Why this matters here
The outages in this part of California are not accidents. They are policy.
Southern California Edison shuts off power deliberately when strong, dry wind comes up over a high fire risk area, and those Public Safety Power Shutoffs can last a day or several. Heat waves overload neighborhood transformers and push the state grid to its limit on the hottest afternoons. Fire, winter storms, planned equipment work and failed equipment take the power out in between. In the hills and canyons County Line works in, from Malibu and Topanga to the Conejo Valley, Montecito and Altadena, the question is not whether the house goes dark, it is how often.
An automatic standby generator fixes that completely. It sits on a pad beside the house, runs on the natural gas line or a propane tank, exercises itself once a week, and starts within seconds of losing utility power through an automatic transfer switch. The well pump keeps running. The gate opens. The refrigerators, the medical equipment, the network and the lights stay on. When the utility comes back, the generator hands the house back and shuts itself down.
The causes
Why outages happen here.
Edison's 2025 reports for these towns name the same few causes: wind shutoffs, equipment failure, weather and fire, and urgent repairs. Heat and planned work add to them.
Wind shutoffs
In high fire risk areas, Edison switches its own lines off on purpose when strong, dry wind makes them a fire risk. The power stays off until the wind drops and crews have patrolled the lines.
Wind shutoffs, explainedHeat waves
Every air conditioner in the neighborhood runs for hours, transformers overheat, and the state grid runs short of power on the hottest afternoons.
Heat wave outagesWildfire
A fire that reaches the lines takes them down, and a burned circuit stays dark until the poles and wire are rebuilt.
Each town's recordWinter storms
Rain, wind and falling trees bring lines down, and saturated hillsides move poles.
Each town's recordPlanned work
Edison schedules maintenance outages in advance and notifies the affected customers at least three days before, per its maintenance outage page.
Each town's recordEquipment problems
Failed equipment is one of the causes Edison posts for unplanned outages on its own map. In Edison's 2025 reports it is the largest cause of lost time in Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo, Santa Monica and Santa Barbara.
Each town's recordThe Power Outage Board shows how long each town County Line serves went without power in 2025, how often and why, from Edison's own reliability reports.
What stays on
Lights, internet, refrigerator, air conditioning. All of it.
- Lights in every room, outside and in, including the Lutron scenes.
- Internet and Wi-Fi: the modem, the router and the mesh points run on house power.
- Refrigerator and freezer, and any medication that has to stay cold.
- Air conditioning and heat, including the gas furnace, whose blower and controls need electricity.
- Water: the well pump, the booster pump and the pressure tank.
- The gate and the garage doors, so the car can always get out.
- Medical equipment: oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, powered beds.
- Security: the alarm, the cameras, the smart locks and the doorbell.
Everything a standby generator keeps running, room by room.
Two kinds of unit
Air-cooled or liquid-cooled. We will tell you which.
Air-cooled Generac
The right answer for most homes. Compact, quieter than you expect, runs on natural gas or propane, backs up the whole panel on a typical house or the essential circuits on a large one.
Air-cooled, explained
Liquid-cooled Generac
For large estates, guest houses, pool equipment and electrified kitchens that a single air-cooled unit cannot carry. Built for long run times and heavy loads.
Liquid-cooled, explainedGenerac product imagery. Generac is a trademark of Generac Power Systems. The choice is made from a load calculation of your house, not from a sales target.
How an installation runs
Six steps, one contractor.
- 01
Site visit and load calculation
We look at the panel, the gas meter, the yard and what you need to keep running. The written estimate follows.
- 02
Location and clearances
Pad placement that meets manufacturer clearances, local code, the HOA if there is one, and the Coastal Zone in Malibu.
- 03
Permit
County Line pulls the electrical permit and coordinates the gas work with a licensed plumber or your propane supplier.
- 04
Pad and set
Pad, the unit, the automatic transfer switch at the panel, and the conduit between them.
- 05
Connection and startup
Gas and electrical connections, startup, a simulated outage with you watching, and the inspection.
- 06
Service, twice a year, $600
Oil, filters, battery, a load test and a look at the transfer switch, both visits, for the year. Jeff's own comparison: the large installers quote about $1,000 for the same.
County Line Electric at a glance
- 20+ yrsIn businessJeff Tucker has run County Line Electric in the Conejo Valley for over 20 years.
- #949580California contractor licenseLicensed, bonded and insured. Check it on the CSLB site any time.
- GeneracStandby generator estimatesA written estimate after a site visit and a load calculation.
- A+BBB Accredited since 2017Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. See the profile.
- 5.0HomeAdvisor ratingFive stars from every reviewed job. Read the reviews.
Service
A generator that is not serviced is a lawn ornament.
A standby generator is an engine that sits outside for years waiting for the one afternoon it is needed. Weekly exercise cycles keep it alive, but oil, filters, the battery and the transfer switch contacts still age. County Line services the units it installs twice a year, and services units other contractors installed too.
The twice-yearly service is $600 for the year, both visits. Jeff's own comparison, which you can check with a phone call: the large generator installers in this area quote about $1,000 for the same work. Generac's mobile app shows the unit's status, the last exercise and any fault, so you and the office both know it is ready.
Generators by area
Where the shutoffs are, we are.
Shutoffs hit these areas hardest, and County Line Electric installs standby generators in each of them.
- MalibuPSPS, Coastal Zone, propane
- Calabasas & Hidden HillsHOA approvals, fire zone
- Thousand OaksHome base
- Pacific PalisadesRebuilds and existing homes
- Agoura Hills & Oak ParkTwo counties, HOA review
- Ventura & CamarilloThomas and Mountain fire hillsides
- Westlake VillageLake and North Ranch estates
- TopangaCanyon outages, propane
- Montecito & Santa BarbaraEstate backup power
- AltadenaRebuilds in the Eaton footprint
Generator questions
How does County Line Electric prepare a generator estimate?
County Line Electric prepares a written generator estimate after a site visit. County Line Electric looks at the electrical panel, the gas supply and the property, runs a load calculation, and sends a written estimate for a Generac standby generator installation the next business day.
What size standby generator does my house need?
It depends on what you want to keep running during an outage, not on square footage alone. A load calculation adds up the circuits: air conditioning, the well pump, pool equipment, electric cooking, EV charging, the refrigerators and the house loads. Most homes land on an air-cooled Generac. Large estates with guest houses or several air conditioning systems need a liquid-cooled unit. County Line sizes from the calculation and explains the choice.
Does a standby generator need a permit in California?
Yes. A permanently installed standby generator with an automatic transfer switch requires an electrical permit and inspection, and the gas connection requires plumbing work by a licensed contractor. In Malibu the Coastal Zone can add a review for the pad location. County Line Electric pulls the electrical permit as part of the installation.
Natural gas or propane?
Natural gas where there is a gas main, because there is no tank to fill. Propane where there is not, which includes parts of Malibu, Topanga and the Santa Monica Mountains. A propane generator needs a tank sized for several days of runtime, and County Line coordinates with your propane supplier.
Does County Line service generators it did not install?
Yes. County Line Electric services Generac standby generators installed by other contractors, including the twice-yearly maintenance of oil, filters, battery and transfer switch, and repairs when a unit faults.
How much does County Line charge for generator maintenance?
$600 a year for the twice-yearly service, both visits included: oil and filter changes, battery check, a load test and an inspection of the automatic transfer switch. Jeff Tucker's own comparison is that the large generator installers in Ventura and Los Angeles counties quote about $1,000 for the same service; County Line's price is on this page so it can be checked.
Where does County Line install generators?
County Line Electric installs generators across Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties from its office in Newbury Park. The areas include Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Hidden Hills, Malibu, Topanga, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Bel Air, Studio City, Camarillo, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Altadena.
Service
The $600 service, and why the price is on the page.
A standby generator is an engine that waits outside for years, and the twice-yearly service is what keeps it ready: oil and filter changes, the battery, a load test under real load, the transfer switch contacts, the exercise schedule and any fault codes in the controller. County Line charges $600 a year for both visits. Jeff Tucker's own comparison, which anyone can check with two phone calls, is that the large generator installers in Ventura and Los Angeles counties quote about $1,000 for the same work.
The price is published because a price that has to be asked for is a price that can change. It applies to units County Line installed and to units installed by someone else.
Timing
When to buy a generator, honestly.
The right time is spring and early summer. Shutoff season in Southern California runs from September into December, when the Santa Ana winds arrive, and that is when everyone calls. Lead times on Generac units and on permits stretch, gas work gets booked out, and a generator ordered in October may not be running until the season is over. A unit ordered in April is installed, inspected and exercised before the first red flag warning.
County Line says this on every generator page because it is true and because a customer who plans ahead gets a better installation: time to size it properly, time to place the pad well, time to get the HOA and the permit done without a rush.
In writing
What the estimate lists, line by line.
A generator estimate that says "installed" and a number is not an estimate. County Line's names every part, so two bids can be compared on the same page.
- The unit: Generac model, kilowatt rating, air-cooled or liquid-cooled, and the load calculation it was sized from
- The automatic transfer switch: amperage, whole-house or critical loads, and where it mounts
- The pad and the location, with the clearances to windows, doors and the property line
- The fuel: natural gas line size and run, or the propane tank, regulator and line, and who does that work
- The electrical: conduit, wire, breakers, surge protection, any panel work the house needs first
- The permit and inspection, and the HOA submittal where there is one
- Startup and a simulated outage with you present
- The twice-yearly service plan: $600 a year, both visits, and what each visit covers
Official references
Where the facts on this page come from.
County Line links to the authorities rather than restating them. Rules change; these pages are current.
- SCE Public Safety Power Shutoffs: why the hills and the coast lose power in wind events
- California Public Utilities Commission: PSPS: the rules utilities follow when they shut power off
- Flex Alert: when the state grid is short of power in a heat wave
- Generac: the equipment County Line installs
- CSLB license check: license #949580
What Generac owners say
The units County Line installs, in the owners' words.
Quoted from generac.com. These are Generac customers describing their generators; County Line Electric installs and services the same Generac units.
We had no power for 8 days... I lost everything in my refrigerator and freezer... so we said never again. As you get older, you need that peace of mind and we just love our Generac.
Our Generac generator is what saved our belongings and is what ultimately saved us as a family. There was utter chaos and destruction outside, but my home was air conditioned and I had power.
You never realize the wrath nature can have until you see 155 mph sustained winds. But our Generac didn't let us down; it powered our air conditioner, our fish tank, our refrigerator and freezer. Having a Generac gave me peace of mind knowing I had power.
Real Generac owners
Three owners, on camera.
Generac's own owner stories. A Generac standby generator is what County Line sizes, permits, installs and services.
Next step
Get the estimate before fire season does.
Name, phone, city and a line about the project. The office calls back, and a site visit is scheduled if it makes sense. No pressure, no sales script.
Or call (805) 499-0823. Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.