Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

Storms can be fun to watch, or even be downright terrifying. But storms often mean a difficult aftermath of cleanup as trees fall or break apart, and between the trees falling and the conditions during the storm, it can often mean power outages. A recent storm in Vancouver, Canada, showed just how powerful these storms could be, as nearly a half-million people were left without power following one such event, according to a report from Huffpost British Columbia.

The Vancouver storm, described as “a vicious windstorm”, did the expected damage to trees and branches, in turn hitting power lines and killing grid power for what was expected to be a day or two, with most expected to be restored shortly, according to BC Hydro. Repairs proceeded quickly, though, and by 10 a.m. Sunday, better than half the customers had power back on, with 180,000 still outstanding.

Still, there were issues; 911 was overwhelmed with calls, but managed these readily enough by notifying callers that only present emergencies should be routed to 911. The Greater Vancouver Zoo noted several major fences had come down, though facility manager Jody Henderson made it quite clear that at no time was the zoo's grizzly bear loose. Metro Vancouver Regional District emergency program coordinator Rod Tulett said that many of the emergency systems in the area had received some augmentation as well as backup power systems, most dating back to a major windstorm from 2006.

This in turn sets up a major point: a disastrous windstorm can happen at any time, and with it bring severe disruption, up to and including a damaged workday. But that's where backup power systems become so important, especially systems like those offered by Minuteman. Whether it's a storm that can be seen coming, or one that just crops up, Minuteman power systems allow that critical extra few minutes of time to finish up a document, save it, and then shut down a computer properly. For those times when power outages are much shorter—sometimes a power outage can just last seconds—a system like Minuteman's can allow users to skate right over the gap and carry on as if the power weren't flickering at all.

Having a backup power system may sound like overkill, but for anyone who's ever been in a power outage that lasted any length of time, its value is enormous. Whether from personal experience or just from the abstract, however, the value of such systems should be clear. Bringing in a backup power system like Minuteman's line may well mean the difference between opportunities lost and opportunities kept.