California Air Resources Board

Advisory #291

January 10, 2025

The current fire weather conditions in California pose an imminent threat to the health and safety of Californians through on-going wildfires. Utility customers who have lost power may want to use a portable generator to power critical equipment, such as medical devices and refrigerators. 

In California, every portable generator rated at or below 19 kilowatts must be certified to California emission standards in order to be legally sold.[1]  However, in some areas, there is currently a shortage of California certified portable generators available for sale due to the increased demand resulting from on-going wildfires.  During this emergency, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will exercise maximum discretion with regard to the sale and use of new generators less than 19 kilowatts in size by temporarily allowing (through June 30, 2025) the import, distribution, sale, and offer for sale of U.S. EPA certified generators subject to the following conditions:

• Manufacturers[2] must send a letter to CARB indicating their desire to take advantage of this advisory by (a) indicating the current make(s) and model(s) of California-certified portable generators that sold out, (b) identifying the intended replacement products that are certified to federal emissions standards, and (c) describing their production plan to increase production more rapidly to address future supply shortfalls.
• Manufacturers shall report to CARB by July 31, 2025, how many U.S. EPA certified generators, by make and model as identified in the letter above, that they distributed or sold.  The Excel template found here may be used for reporting. Alternatively, a manufacturer may use its own reporting format so long as all information listed in the template is included. Letters and reports must be emailed to generators@arb.ca.gov.
• Manufacturers must notify wholesalers, distributors, and retailers that the engines are allowed for sale in California only through June 30, 2025. 
• Distributors and wholesalers shall keep records of the affected generators they distributed or sold, by make and model, and shall make these records available upon request to CARB.
• Retailers shall keep records of the affected generators they sold, both online and in-store, by retailer, and by make and model, and make these records available upon request to CARB.   

Manufacturers that do not already have California certification(s) for model-years 2023, 2024, and/or 2025 generators are prohibited from selling U.S. EPA certified generators in California. Likewise, if California certified generators become available to a manufacturer, those must be sold prior to offering a U.S. EPA certified generator.    

Beginning July 1, 2025, any generator being offered for sale, or sold without California certification will be treated as a violation subject to penalties per CARB’s Enforcement Policy.  

Consumers should take precautions when operating generators, following all manufacturer guidelines. Only enough fuel for immediate use should be added to the generator’s tank; when not in use, the generator never should be stored with fuel in the tank.

[1] 13 CCR 2400(a)(2), 13 CCR 2401(a)(39), 13 CCR (2751(a)

[2]The term manufacturer means “generator-set manufacturer” throughout