Businesses and residents in San Diego were none too happy when power fluctuations led to a full-on power outage.
According to local reports, approximately 115,000 customers endured a recent power outage after a failed generator put stress on a power grid that was already under heavy demand from astronomical heat conditions.
On the business side of things, many local companies were turning customers away due to the outage.
San Diego Gas & Electric initiated the outage after a generator in the region went off line on a recent late morning, which led to transmission overload. The California Independent System Operator made SDG&E reduce 150 megawatts of load in order to avoid overloading other lines, said Anne Gonzales, a spokeswoman for the state operator.
The generator failed, it’s assumed, because of the increased demand in the area.
SDG&E calls the incident very rare and says they do expect it to happen again anytime soon.
While that may be so, it’s best for businesses to remember that even in the rarest of circumstances, coming up with a power protection plan is the best safeguard for when an outage is widespread, causing not only inconvenience, but lost business as well.
Power fluctuations can be just as bad. When there is a reduction in or restriction on the availability of electrical power in a particular area, it can destroy or damage electronic equipment.
During power fluctuations, you should always be prepared for a total blackout. If power consumption isn't reduced enough, the result will be either the brownout not ending or a blackout sooner or later.
For businesses, it’s all about saving data and mission-critical equipment that may otherwise not have protection from insurance. That’s why power protection is a must on the lists of business-minded folk in addition to having a safety and disaster preparedness plan.
Minuteman Power Technologies offers products geared toward the business owner, from outlet surge protectors to UPSs (uninterruptible power supplies).
Using power protection equipment can save institutions thousands in costly damages due to outages during extreme heat, as well as keeping things running smoothly and efficiently in the event of an interruption or total outage.
Investing in a UPS or a standby generator can serve an important purpose in keeping things powered up if you’re stuck in a powerless business for an extended period of time.
In today’s tech-era, we have become so accustomed to a continuous, uninterrupted supply of electricity that we are usually unprepared when this supply is cut off by storms, weather or other accidents.
Stay ahead of the outage and get a power protection plan in place.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson