Emergency power in extreme weather conditions

Droughts, snow storms, floods, gales ” extremities in weather will wreak havoc in all areas of a community’s daily life. Food production, water availability, transportation systems, damage to property, disrupted power supplies – the consequences of harsh weather can result in serious threats to the safety of the general public and be detrimental to the economy.

As weather patterns become more and more unpredictable, individual businesses in particular are encouraged to draw up foolproof business continuity plans (BCPs) that include provisions for power outside the grid, with power being one key area that can in most cases, be planned for.à‚  The adage “fail to prepare, prepare to fail” is never truer than when spoken in the context of business.

A major cause of power outages across the world is extreme weather conditions. Recent examples include heat waves in Australia, snow storms in the US and gale-force winds in the UK. à‚ Scientists are discovering that incidences of extreme weather are becoming more and more common. Loss of power for a business’s production or operation could have a devastating effect on output and revenue.à‚  Even the loss of broadband connectivity could result in major losses, particularly to businesses that trade goods and services online.

Technology that can monitor and predict weather patterns continues to advance, meaning that more accurate and reliable predictions of severe weather can be sourced. This can help businesses plan ahead. The further ahead a business can plan for power outages, the quicker they can move to implement their contingency plan.

Using experienced engineers from specialised power rental companies, businesses should identify potential issues and threats as early as possible. This enables them to undertake a comprehensive survey of its business’s requirements in good time. It means the findings can inform a detailed plan for the business to follow, resulting in less disruption when outages do occur.

The key is to be prepared as thoroughly and as far in advance as possible, with the objective of recovering from extreme weather situations with minimal downtime and disruption to your business. Having access to emergency power support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year can be the difference between saving and losing significant amounts of revenue.

All businesses are vulnerable to unforeseen or severe weather conditions that can prevent them from operating normally.à‚  However, businesses also have access to solutions which will allow them to get back on track – how quickly they recover depends entirely on how well prepared they are in advance.

Stuart Ritchie is Key Account Manager at Aggreko

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