Current Power Technologies Experiencing Steady Growth Helping Customers Ensure They’re Never Left Without Electricity
By Bruce X. Forey | Photography by David Teran
Be prepared. More 78209 residents follow that motto to ensure their lights stay on. Current Power Technologies is benefiting from increased interest in backup power at homes and businesses. Owner Grant Winston says more home and business owners are wary of electric reliability after winter storm Uri hit in 2021 when many were left without electricity and feeling the bitter cold for days.
“After that, I think there was a big change in demand for backup power. It just showed how sensitive our grid really is,” Grant said. “My customers are highly independent thinkers and literally want to take power into their own hands. A backup generator is peace of mind.”
Grant says when the media covers almost anything dealing with Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the 2021 outage crisis, or future grid reliability, the phone rings.
“People are paying attention, and there’s a correlation between when the grid makes the news and our generator sales.”
Current Power Technologies has customers throughout San Antonio, with about 40 percent of its sales coming from 78209. Like most products, generators improve with technology. Old-school home generators were mostly smaller and less powerful and usually provided backup power to a section of the house. Now, they are more effective in the same footprint and mostly power the entire home.
Grant says generators can also benefit homeowners with solar systems. On cloudy days, the solar panels usually don’t produce enough energy to charge the batteries that are often purchased as a renewable energy solution. A generator can fully charge the battery so the owner can use the battery to power their home.
“With this setup, you have the potential to live completely off the grid. However, 95% of the value from a generator is for a reliable backup when the power goes out,” Grant said.
Part of the renewable energy evolution is the growing popularity of electric vehicles. Current Power Technologies is part of the industry through the installation of electric vehicle or, EV chargers.
“I think everyone was forecasting quicker growth than we’re currently seeing. What we’re seeing now is realistic growth,” said Grant. “Current Power Technologies is here to help build out that infrastructure as we move towards a more electrified world.”
Current Power Technologies primarily installs level-two EV chargers for residential homes. The company is also the authorized installer for a manufacturer that specializes in supplying EV chargers to apartment complexes.
Installing generators and EV chargers helped Current Power Technologies grow its residential electrical contracting business. When customers realized Current Power Technology employees were electricians, they asked if they could do other electrical repair projects at their homes.
“We are a licensed electrical contractor qualified to do any type of residential and commercial electric work,” said Grant. “For one customer, we installed a generator and then upgraded the entire electrical system in the home.”
Current Power Technologies has been operating out of its Sunset Rd. location since 2019. The small, family-owned business employs 12 people. Grant’s wife, Brittany, is the company’s director of marketing.
Grant added, “Our company is modeled on the “Four F” concept of faith, family, fitness, and finance.”
As business increases, so does the need for qualified workers. Grant offers new hires a long-term career opportunity in the electric contract industry with extensive training.
“I don’t think college is for all of us, so I’m very supportive of building up the trades,” Grant said. “We bring people under our umbrella and pay for all of their electrical schooling as they move towards being a journeyman or master electrician.”
In addition to supporting local businesses, Grant and Brittany are active in the local community. The Winston’s have three girls, ages 10, 8 & 6 years old, and live in Alamo Heights.
