In today’s 24/7/365 business world, organizations rely on power to keep virtually every aspect of their operations functioning. Power outages—whether caused by lightning strikes, blackouts, aging electrical systems, or natural disasters—can potentially result in loss of perishable inventory, customer service disruptions, and reduced productivity.

A study by the Electrical Power Research Institute estimated that U.S. businesses lost $188 billion in 2001 due to power outages and quality disturbances. Regardless of the duration or cause, power outages can have disastrous implications on the finances and future of a company. For this reason, businesses of all types are beginning to recognize the value of bringing temporary portable generators online safely and quickly in the event of a power failure. Temporary power connection cabinets and systems should be an integral part of a facilities emergency planning.

Blackouts. Hurricanes. Thunderstorms. Snow. Ice storms. Floods. High winds. Whether they are caused by a utility power interruption or weather disasters, power outages are frequent occurrences throughout the country. If you are responsible for maintaining commercial facilities, power reliability is likely to be a real concern. Whether you want to maintain uptime, or are worried about losing perishable inventory, chances are the thought of power reliability has crossed your mind recently - maybe even causing you a few sleepless nights.

Making the decision to provide backup power capability to your facilities is the first step, and has probably raised many questions.  While some facility managers may desire to run the entire operation under generator power, it is not a requirement to do so. You may choose to run only a critical portion of your facility during a power outage. The important component in the decision is whether you want to keep the whole facility operating as it would with utility-supplied power.

Should I consider an automatic system?

For facilities requiring a continuous source of power, products such as automatic transfer switches provide constant and reliable power. Products such as these have the ability to detect when the utility power has been interrupted and automatically send a signal to the temporary generator. Automatic transfer switches are commonly used at facilities where power outages can have serious financial and productivity implications such as grocery stores, large office buildings, hospitals, and educational facilities. With the hurricane season soon to be here, facilities of all types would be wise to take preventative measures to ensure that their power will stay on in the event of planned maintenance, utility failure, natural disaster, or power quality disturbance. These power protection products will enable facilities to stay up and running and avoid significant financial losses associated with power outages.