Does your business have a backup plan in place in case of emergency? What would happen if there was a sudden power cut, fire, data hack or extreme weather event? These are all scenarios that organisations need to be planning for.
Power cuts are arguably one of the most controllable of these events, because you can use backup power solutions to mitigate against the disruption a sudden outage can cause. With the right plan and the right equipment, you can keep everything running smoothly until the power comes back on.
How Power Outages Impact Business Operations
Unexpected power cuts can wreak disastrous consequences on businesses and organisations across all sectors. At best, you may find that productivity is minorly disrupted, leading to limited financial losses. But at worst – as in a hospital or hazardous industrial sites – lives can be at risk.
Here are just a few of the many things that can happen after an unplanned power outage:
- Operational disruption – a power cut can bring machinery and equipment to a grinding halt. This interrupts workflow and impacts productivity, which may mean missed deadlines, unhappy customers and disrupted supply chains.
- Financial losses. Downtime can be seriously expensive, no matter which industry you’re in. In fact, research into the cost of downtime found that a huge $9,000 per minute was lost during average IT system downtime. For small businesses, the average cost of downtime per hour can be anywhere up to $50,000 – a price that many SMEs simply can’t afford.
- Health and safety risks. Modern safety systems depend on electricity, from emergency lighting and sprinkler systems to medical equipment. In sectors such as mining and chemical production, ventilation systems are absolutely crucial for keeping on-site personnel safe. If these systems fail, even for a few seconds, both workers and members of the public could be put in serious danger.
- Reputational damage. If customers can’t reach you, their orders are delayed or their data is lost, this can have a major impact on your brand’s reputation. It can harm customer confidence and damage trust, especially if it happens more than once.
Types of Backup Power Solutions for Emergencies
To avoid the many negative impacts of power outages, organisations need to develop contingency plans in case of emergency.
At the heart of any such plan should be a backup power solution. Many businesses use a combination of solutions, to add extra layers of ‘fallback’ protection.
A common setup involves using backup generators in combination with uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). If the power goes out, it can take a little time for the generator to power up and reach full capacity. The battery-powered UPS picks up the slack, starting immediately as soon as the outage is detected. This effectively bridges the gap, delivering uninterrupted power to your business.
For sites which have very high power consumption, it may not be possible to power absolutely everything with an emergency generator (although you can use multiple generators in tandem if needed).
In these situations, it may be best to focus on mission-critical operations, such as safety systems and core operational processes. These can be powered by your backup power supply until the mains outage can be resolved.
The Benefits of Having a Reliable Backup Generator
Choosing the right emergency power solution is absolutely crucial to safeguarding your business in an unexpected situation. You need to be completely confident that it’ll work when it should, and this means selecting the right equipment and maintaining it properly.
Get it right, and you can benefit from:
- Business continuity – where operations continue without disruption or safety risks
- Protection for critical equipment – such as computers, servers and manufacturing systems which may otherwise become damaged during a sudden power cut
- Compliance and safety – in many sectors, backup power solutions and contingency plans are a key regulatory requirement
- Cost savings – reducing the financial impact of unplanned downtime
- Peace of mind – there’s no putting a price on the assurance that your site and your people are protected, no matter what happens.
How Pleavin Power Supports Businesses During Emergencies
To get the right emergency power solution for your needs, it’s crucial to work with a specialist. Here at Pleavin Power, we help UK businesses stay powered, no matter what happens – with reliable, ready-to-go emergency generator solutions.
Not only can we help to design permanent backup power solutions for your site, but we can also assist with emergencies. This includes offering 24/7 emergency generator support, with rapid response teams able to deal with any on-site issues, and deliver and install temporary power if needed. Our disaster recovery services can help your business get back up and running quickly after any major incident.
We have national coverage, so can reach you quickly no matter where in the UK your business is based.
We offer preventative maintenance packages, load testing and site surveys to ensure generator readiness at all times.
Preparing Your Site with a Backup Power Plan
If you don’t currently have a backup power plan in place for your site, now is the time to do it – before an emergency happens.
Work with a specialist like Pleavin Power and we can help you assess your power needs and design a tailored power continuity plan that fits your exact requirements. We can also provide regular testing and a maintenance schedule that works for you.
