With blackouts across the UK expected to rise, power solutions provider Critical Power Supplies (CPS) has published its latest report, The Essential Guide to Blackouts: How Businesses Can Thrive When the Power Goes Out, featuring an in-depth look at the causes, challenges and solutions associated with power outages.
The government has warned that the country’s transition to renewable energy will increase the risk of widespread blackouts if it is not managed carefully, while the recent heavy 2023/24 storm season highlighted the fragility of the UK’s power supply network. Still, many businesses are unclear about the causes of blackouts, the specific threats they pose to infrastructure and operations, and the solutions within their grasp.
CPS’s report cuts out a lot of the sensationalism around the reporting on blackouts by addressing some of the key myths that surround the subject. The authors focus on the very serious risk of smaller, more frequent power outages and the wide range of their causes, not just from weather-related events but also equipment failure, human error, overloading on the grid, and cyber-attacks.
Crucially, The Essential Guide to Blackout also provides readers with a checklist of how to both prepare and prevent blackout events. These steps include risk assessments (covering health & safety, loss of trading. IT disruption and data loss, and client support), communication plans, emergency power solutions such as back-up generators and uninterruptible power supplies, and inventory management and maintenance.
“Blackouts pose a significant risk to the operations and success of businesses across all industries. Organisations need to better understand the nature of those risks and apply them to their own business, as well as how they can build resilience,” said Jason Koffler, CEO of CPS. “As the energy landscape evolves, proactive planning and investment in robust backup power solutions will ensure that businesses remain operational, safeguard critical services, and maintain competitive advantage even in the face of unforeseen power outages. This report provides valuable insights and practical solutions that will help businesses not only survive but thrive in the face of these challenges.”
The Essential Guide to Blackouts is the latest from CPS in a series of reports that can help organisations develop power resilience and better plan for power disruption, having worked with a diverse range of customers across healthcare, information technology, maritime, retail, telecommunications, and other industries for more than 30 years.
