Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

Power outages typically bring about frustration, anger, and a loss of patience, but for students at Big Sky High School in Montana, an extended power outage was the reason for celebration, as it was the event to kick off a four-day weekend.

According to local news sources, a power failure early last Friday morning, September 25, meant that classes had to be canceled; Monday was a scheduled professional development day for staff, so students were able to enjoy the weekend for an extra day.

No one knows for certain what caused the outage, but further investigation revealed that underground power lines had gone bad. Students were sent home around 9 a.m. that morning.

The area had experienced a power outage the night before, although the two events were completely unrelated, thus proving power outages do not discriminate. Surrounding towns had already experienced a total loss of power due to inclement weather earlier this summer.

"Since the big storm in mid-August we have had a fair number of incidents," said NorthWestern Energy spokesman Butch Larcombe, according to local sources. "Our reliability is pretty good, but it's just a string of quirky events."

Outages that can interrupt the daily grind are easily mitigated with a power protection plan. Whether you’re a business or an administrator for a school district, having a backup is key to keeping things up and running.

Districts and local businesses should seek out uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) devices to provide emergency power when power fails, as these have the ability to maintain power during a total outage.

A UPS comes with a host of benefits; these devices prevent data loss and offer surge protection. The UPS automatically switches to AC-generated battery power, preventing the spike or surge from harming whatever is connected to it. A UPS also prevents power fluctuations.

Minuteman UPS/Para Systems (News - Alert) is a provider of power protection solutions and offers a variety of products, from outlet surge protectors to UPSs, all of which are designed to keep things up and running, whether outages are caused by inclement weather or faulty power lines.

Using power protection equipment can also save institutions thousands in costly damages due to outages in the event of an interruption or total outage.

While the students of Big Sky High School had reasons to rejoice for a longer weekend, businesses and residents should take a lesson from this unexpected power outage: have a plan, be prepared, and always have backup.