Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

It is not truly apparent how vital proper sources of power protection are until there is a blackout and businesses are forced to close, travelers are left stranded, and residents are told to take shelter.  That was what happened during a January 12 outage that burst throughout New Jersey, leaving 28,000 clients without power.  This is according to calculations from Jersey Central Power and Light and Public Service Electric and Gas Company.

Starting in the early morning hours, around 4am, northern New Jersey was hit first; central New Jersey lost power by midday Friday.  An additional outage occurred at Newark Liberty International Airport outside of Terminal C as a result of a manhole fire.  Flights were put on hold as the outages mixed with severe fog made for horrible flying conditions.

"Rain and condensation, mixing with residual salt on roadways and walkways, compromised equipment. We do not have an estimated time of restoration for those customers," Brooke Houston, of PSE&G, elaborated to News 12 New Jersey.

Residents around the state were entered into “shelter in place” positions with schools experiencing delayed openings or early closures. It was not just the airport and schools feeling the pain of the power outage; businesses often bear the brunt and, in this case, there were phone and internet issues, crucial to business operations.

One of the biggest sources of retail income is the mall and the Menlo Park Mall located in Edison lost power at approximately 11:30am, according to a shopper. At the time, both electric companies were working to restore power so it could be business as usual, but there was no guarantee as to when it would officially be restored.  A further risk to businesses is the risk of damage to unprotected equipment, which can easily cause extended operational downtime and repair costs after power has been restored.

In a month like January, especially in the North, temperatures can drop to below freezing, so it is vital to have some sort of power protection effort in place. Especially in highly trafficked areas like airports and malls – and, frankly, any business –  lost opportunities are hard to recover.  Investing in the proper uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system is a great protection option and a shoulder to lean on in the case of an unexpected outage.  There is no need to sacrifice business operations and functionality with the availability of these resources.