Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

Power outages can come at the most unexpected times.

While the chance of power loss is obvious right before a big snowstorm blows into town, at other times the loss of power can be unexpected.

At those times, power loss also can be devastating. A power loss in the middle of an important data transfer, or during mission-critical computing operations, can cost thousands or more.

Recently businesses in East Liverpool, PA, near Pittsburgh, discovered if they were ready for a surprise outage.

A man near his 50s broke into an American Electric Power substation in East Liverpool in an alleged attempt to steal some raw materials from the power substation.

The man’s plans went awry, however, while attempting to pull a large black wire from under the fence, reported the The Review Online earlier this week. The wire, which was live, touched a fence post and caused an arc that lit the alleged thief on fire.

“His keys were found hanging on the fence, along with a burnt pack of cigarettes and other items, including a piece of paper containing suspected drugs,” noted the report.

While the man’s condition is still unknown, businesses and residents affected by his actions certainly were hurt; the shenanigans knocked out electricity to a large section of town and also disrupted power at East Liverpool City Hospital and several nursing homes.

We take power for granted most of the time. But when it goes down, are we ready?

It is for this reason that I have been using an uninterruptible power supply for about a decade. It not only delivers piece of mind, but it makes sure that I hit my deadlines and don’t lose any crucial data.

For businesses, there’s all the more reason to invest in a UPS. While I might miss a few assignments, businesses have a lot more income to lose potentially. A UPS seems like an overly cautious move in good times—but when the power goes out, even having 10 minutes to properly shut down equipment can be crucial.

Minuteman Technologies offers a range of power solutions that can ensure that businesses stay up even when drugged up hooligans make a fool of themselves at the local power station. Its line of UPS units includes those for small businesses, such as its EnSpire series, to UPS systems that protect midsize networks such as its EnterprisePlus series. The company also has data center and three-phase UPS systems for large enterprise applications.

Power will go out. It just depends on how prepared you are to deal with it.