Introduction
The unpredictable nature of hurricanes and their potential to cause widespread power outages highlight the critical need for businesses to implement robust emergency preparedness strategies. Generac Industrial Energy offers this guidance for businesses to navigate hurricane season, with a particular focus on maintaining power, ensuring personnel safety, and leveraging available resources for comprehensive disaster planning.
In recent years, hurricanes and tropical storms have been responsible for some of the most severe and prolonged power outages, often lasting for several days or even weeks. The past few hurricane seasons saw significant impacts on the electric grid, underscoring the ongoing threat these storms pose to business continuity. When the power goes out, operations become significantly more challenging. Backup generators provide a crucial layer of safety and security, offering peace of mind when the power grid is unavailable.
Hurricane Season: Lessons Learned
The last few hurricane seasons served as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of businesses to severe weather events. Hurricane Beryl, for instance, caused extensive power disruptions across the Caribbean and parts of the Southeastern U.S., leading to prolonged business closures. Similarly, Hurricanes Debby, Francine, and Helene resulted in significant power outages, supply chain disruptions, and challenges for employees attempting to reach their workplaces. These events reinforce the necessity of proactive planning that extends beyond just physical infrastructure to encompass personnel safety and logistical considerations.
Planning for an Emergency Power System:
- Assess Needs: Determine the critical systems and equipment that require continuous power. This will dictate the size and type of generator needed.
- Location and Installation: Consider optimal placement for the generator, ensuring proper ventilation and compliance with local codes. Remember the generator will also require protection from physical hazards such as flooding and wind. Generac Industrial Energy offers generator enclosures that meet stringent High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ for parts of FL) ballistic impact requirements.
- Fuel Supply: Determine the most appropriate fuel source for your location and operational needs, whether it’s on-site storage for diesel generators or a natural gas connection. Where it is available, natural gas has consistently demonstrated consistently high availability following hurricane events with few if any outages even in areas affected by flooding.
Operating and Maintaining Your Emergency Power System
- Regular Maintenance: Conduct manufacturer’s recommended routine maintenance on your backup generator, including oil changes, filter replacements, and battery checks.
- Regular Automatic Exercises: Periodically test your generator under load to ensure it functions correctly when needed. This helps identify potential issues such as overloading, or equipment problems before an emergency strikes. Problems such as a fouled radiator will not be apparent during unloaded exercises since there is very little load on the engine.
- Fuel Management: For diesel generators, implement a fuel testing, rotation and treatment plan to prevent fuel degradation and ensure readiness. Regular loaded exercises are a simple method to improve fuel turnover.
- Safety Protocols: Familiarize staff with safe operating procedures for the generator, including lockout/tagout procedures during maintenance. While most standby power systems operate fully automatically, knowing how to operate the system manually, or being able to identify abnormal operations will be helpful during an extended outage.
- Operational Checks (if practical): Basic operational checks conducted bi-weekly by on-site personnel are an efficient method to identify and correct minor issues such as a low fuel condition, an open circuit breaker, closed fuel valve, or the generator key switch being accidentally left in the “off” position. Most generator “failures” are in fact caused by human error that could have been easily corrected had they been detected prior to a power outage.
Fuel Supply Plans for Diesel Generators
Strategic Sourcing: Identify a reliable fuel supplier and establish priority delivery agreements. If practical, identify at least one additional fuel supplier located 50-100 miles away. This reduces the probability the fuel supplier’s operations will be impacted by the same widespread event.
- On-site Fuel Storage: Check diesel fuel levels as part of regular operational checks, don’t wait for the low fuel alarm to sound on the remote annunciator!
- Fuel Quality: Implement a fuel testing and treatment program to prevent contamination and ensure fuel quality, especially for long-term storage.
Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Resources
Various governmental and educational organizations offer invaluable guidance for businesses preparing for hurricanes and other disasters. These resources provide frameworks for developing robust emergency plans, understanding risks, and
accessing assistance.
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): FEMA provides extensive resources for business preparedness, including tools for identifying risks, developing continuity plans, and applying for disaster assistance. They emphasize that 80% of a building's value lies in its equipment, inventory, and contents, and businesses should anticipate significant damage to these assets.
- State and Local Emergency Management Agencies: These agencies offer localized information, alerts, and specific guidance tailored to regional threats and resources.
- Ready.gov: This national public service campaign, managed by FEMA, provides practical tips and resources for individuals, families, and businesses to prepare for emergencies.
Business Continuity
While protecting property and ensuring operational uptime are crucial, the success of a business post-hurricane relies on the well-being and availability of its personnel.
- Employee Communication Plan: Establish clear and reliable communication channels to reach employees before, during, and after a storm. This includes emergency contact lists, designated check-in procedures, and methods for disseminating critical updates.
- Family Preparedness: Encourage employees to develop personal and family emergency plans. Provide resources and information on how they can secure their homes, prepare emergency kits, and plan for potential evacuations. A
business cannot function if its employees are unable to leave their homes or are dealing with personal crises.
- Flexibility and Support: Be prepared to offer flexibility in work arrangements post-storm, recognizing that employees may face challenges with childcare, housing, or transportation. Consider providing resources or assistance programs to aid in their personal recovery as part of a comprehensive business continuity plan. This may include setting aside space at the place of business for employees’ families; the workplace may be the only safe location with power for days to weeks.
Conclusion
- Effective hurricane preparedness is an ongoing process that demands continuous review and improvement. By proactively addressing emergency power needs, leveraging available preparedness resources, and crucially, prioritizing the safety and well-being of personnel, businesses can significantly mitigate the impact of hurricanes. Making the choice to prepare today not only protects physical assets but also safeguards the personnel essential for your company’s resilience and long-term success.
About the Author
- Michael Hainzl, CBCP, brings over two decades of engineering and field operations experience in the telecommunications industry prior to joining Generac Industrial Energy in 2015. With an extensive background in business continuity planning and disaster recovery operations spanning from Hurricane Katrina (2005) to Sandy (2012), Michael is dedicated to ensuring resilient design and operation of critical power systems.
