Well Mean Irene knocked out our electricity in CT for 7 days. So we fired up the generator to keep the food safe in the refrigerators, make hot water for showers and dishes, and pump water from the well. Life is good when you have the backup generator keeping you going.
I bought a Cummins Onan 6000 watt portable standby generator about 10 years ago. It has a manual transfer switch and we run it on gasoline (could also run it on LPG). It performed flawlessly. Starts right up and purrs like a kitten (or a lioness).
Our power grid is a little fragile in CT where I live due to the fact that the wires run through heavily forrested areas where the trees overhang the power lines.
We were fortunate that we had the generator and I would not want to be without it. Even though the number of times you need it are few, it makes a HUGE difference in the quality of life when you do need it.
GET A GENERATOR AND BE READY!