Backup Power Solutions for this Summer’s Extreme Weather Forecast

A pre-season forecast from researchers at Colorado State University shows that the Atlantic will likely experience 23 named storms, including 11 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes during the 2024 hurricane season. On average, the Atlantic has had 14 named storms (including 7 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes) annually between 1991 and 2000.

The upcoming hurricane season’s severity will put considerable strain on the power grid, especially during the peak periods of the hot summer months. Since many areas don’t have renewable energy sources that can withstand storms or scale fast enough to keep up with demand, businesses should start preparing now.

Outside of the peak season, you might expect to buy an emergency generator within a decent delivery time. As hurricane season and summer heat approach, though, more businesses want to purchase mobile diesel generators and similar equipment. It doesn’t take long for power equipment supplies to run out. At that point, it will become difficult and expensive, with lead times of months to receive a generator. Many factors can stress the supply chain on power, including the scale or pace of the disasters.

Effective power preparedness means taking steps now to secure standby backup generators for businesses.

Failing to heed this warning could have dire consequences. Outages create inconveniences for some. However, research published in Scientific American shows a strong correlation between vulnerable areas and vulnerable populations. For example, the Gulf Coast has some of the country’s most important ports, refineries, material import and large number of vulnerable people.

Investing in the best generator for hurricane season now helps protect those and other populations from prolonged power outages.

Some power grids are more likely to experience outages than others during the 2024 hurricane season. The grids most at risk are located in the following areas:

• Florida – grid resiliency has improved in Florida, but hurricanes still leave about 500,000 residential and commercial buildings without power after major storms
• Texas – Texas experiences more blackouts than any other state
• Louisiana – 1.2 million people in Louisiana lost power during Hurricane Ida in 2021

While hurricanes tend to pummel the East and Gulf coasts, those aren’t the only areas that experience frequent summer blackouts.

More than 8,000 Michigan residents have already experienced storm-related outages in 2024.

California has built a more resilient grid over the last few years, but most Californians experienced multiple blackouts during the summer of 2023. Other states with low power grid reliability include:

• West Virginia
• Vermont
• Alaska
• Maine
• Mississippi
• Arkansas
• Virginia
• Idaho
• Washington

Power preparedness depends on your business. Some businesses only need small, mobile diesel generators to power essential parts of their infrastructure, such as air conditioning systems, emergency lighting or medical devices. Maintaining business continuity for larger or more power-dependent businesses, however, could require a much larger emergency generator and evaluations of critical loads. This often includes an engineering study of the existing electrical infrastructure and designs for an appropriate backup power solution.

As businesses grow, they tend to use more energy, so you should explore commercial generators that allow for your growth plans and avoid having to replace your power system every time your power demand increases. You might even want to install more than one generator or have a combination of mobile and stationary generators to allow flexibility and ensure business continuity.

Consider some of our planning and preparedness articles:

Feb 11, 2024 – How to Properly Size a Commercial Generator

Apr 11, 2022 – What’s on Tap? A Reliable, Convenient, and Economical Way to Connect a Standby Diesel Generator

Aug 22, 2022 – Need an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) Better Start With Your Transition Type

Jun 7, 2021 – Pre-Summer Generator Load Test and Essential Checklist

Jun 5, 2023 – Hurricane Season is Here, Is Your Business Prepared for an Extended Power Outage?

As always, the best generator is the one that meets your business energy needs, is available, and measures up under actual load. But you can’t wait until the last minute to purchase one, lead times for factory orders are long, and demand can spike leaving existing inventories depleted. Implement a backup solution now to get ahead of the supply issues and protect your business.

We know this is a difficult decision for many businesses to make. Business risk defines the need for an emergency generator that powers all of your critical power systems. Businesses also must be concerned with the bottomline. Global Power Supply has been in the backup power business for nearly 20 years, drawing from our experience, we can offer your business a backup power solution that is both affordable and reliable.

Global Power Supply can help! Contact us today to learn more about which backup generators will keep you and your community safe during the upcoming hurricane season. As temperatures soar and storms roll in, you can rest easy knowing that you are power protected.