When the energy network is put into a chokehold, municipalities around the country pull the plug. These rolling blackouts are designed to ease the pressure off the system during extremes. These extremes usually and unfortunately happen during the high heat of summer, when the heat continues to beat everyone down. Extreme heat is incredibly dangerous, and counteracting that can be very difficult on energy reserves. That’s why energy may be cut down for short periods periodically throughout the day.
As a business, you need to keep things up and running, which means you need to take into account these rolling blackouts and use this guide to plan accordingly:
- Stay Updated on Planned Outages
The easiest way to prepare for a rolling blackout is to know when they are scheduled. This way, you can make contingency plans and work your schedule around these blackouts to minimize their disruption. You should be able to find this information on your local energy site, municipality, and on the news. If your area is experiencing rolling blackouts, then finding that information won’t be hard – you just need to input that data into your own schedule to work around it.
If you currently aren’t on any restrictions, but predict that your area will be soon, then you’ll want to follow up with the rest of the tips in this list ASAP.
- Keep Things Running with a Standby Generator
A standby generator you have sourced from the best of the best through Power Generation Nation can help you keep your business up and running seamlessly for the hour or two the blackout is in effect. Generators are a must, especially if you have sensitive products like food or frozen items. These generators can keep the lights on, computers running, and machinery going – but you’ll need to know how much energy you need to compensate for when shopping for a generator.
- Plan Your Heaviest Electrical Needs for Night
The dead of night is when the energy network is least strained. There are rarely rolling blackouts at midnight, especially not during the early hours of the morning. That’s why it’s a good idea to plan your heaviest electrical needs for these times. You may need to pay someone overtime or a special night rate to ensure your equipment is okay and that there are no issues, yes, but it will mean longer uptime during the day and can cost you significantly less in utilities as a whole.
- Add Your Own Power Sources
If you own the building and the land around you, then you should look into using that energy. Get solar panels or even wind generators to help you offset your power use. If, for some reason, you have unused electricity, you can actually sell that back to the grid!
- Adopt Low-Tech Alternatives Where You Can
There are many ways you can adopt low-tech alternatives to keep your business up and running. For example, you can add a lattice over the open windows. This forces the air through a smaller hole, which in turn cools the air and helps cool your workplace down more effectively without touching your air conditioning.