Just in time for the inclement weather expected to accompany the arrival of Christmas, the Andalusia Police Department has a new generator that will keep its equipment humming in the event of a power failure.

Chief Wilbur Williams said the station has been using a 1967 model generator that was donated years ago by Andalusia Regional Hospital.

“We were experiencing numerous problems with the unit and had been looking to replace it since this is designated as an emergency operations center,” Williams said. “We had an estimate for $78,000 to replace the unit but funds were not available to do it.

“We found a unit through military surplus and were able to replace the 1967 model, rated at 130KW, output with a 1999 model with 350 KW output,” he said. “The 1999 model has 132 hours of run-time and should last for many years in this capacity.”

The police department spent $3,000 on the conversion, taking advantage of city resources to keep the cost at a minimum. The generator is wired to supply power to the whole building. Once each week, it runs an automatic test to ensure that it is operational.