Power cuts and your business
Energy supply issues means there’s a chance of intentional rolling power cuts this winter. This advice is given as is, it’s based on what we know and are thinking about, please also seek specialist help if required.
How likely are they?
Rolling blackouts are a last resort tool, and current advice is that their likelihood is low. The National Grid’s winter outlook report says:
‘Our central view remains, as set out in the Base Case, that there will be adequate margins (3.7GW / 6.3%) through the winter to ensure Great Britain remains within the reliability standard , although we expect there to be days where we will need to utilise many of the tools in our operational toolkit, including use of system notices’
So, they’re unlikely; but considering the last few years it feels sensible to plan for the unlikely.
When could they happen?
They’re potentially more likely when power usage peaks (January and February, and between 4-7pm); but this is only a rough guide. The number of them will be determined by the severity of the power shortages.
How would they work?
They would be rolling blackouts. The national grid has been divided into Load Blocks, also known as block letters and alpha identifiers, they’re a bit like postcode areas. If there’s not enough power these load bocks will be given notice ahead of time and take turns to have their power turned off for a 3-hour window.
Load blocks are identified by letter (A, B, C etc.). You can find your Load Block by searching your postcode here. The V load block is reserved for protected sites – those like hospitals which will remain powered.
How CAN I prepare?
It’s hard to make a guide for everyone, but here are some common things to think about:
Making sure your building is secure, and accessible if needed
Magnetic and electronic locks (think key fob access systems) often have a battery backup, check if that’s the case with yours, and service the battery if needed. If not, when unpowered some automatically unlock, others remain locked but usually have a manual way to unlock them with a key. Check which you have and work out a plan to secure the building without power if needed.
Some roller shutters require power to operate, though they will likely have a manual way to operate them too.
CCTV and alarm systems without backup power will turn off for the duration of the power cut, as will any walkie-talkie system which relies on a powered base station to operate. You could look at backup power options; keeping your internal network powered would likely keep your CCTV and access control systems working and may even allow you to stay online (see below).
Uninterruptable power supplys can be expensive, but even a cheap one could be enough to cover three hours so long as it’s only powering low-power devices (e.g the core network infrastructure). Some of the larger portable battery packs also have a normal three pin plug for low-power devices.
Ensure that any electrical equipment that could be dangerous if unsupervised (say an electric hob or soldering iron) is turned off and remains off through the power cut.
Protecting sensitive equipment
It’s become less of an issue over the years, but some IT equipment prefers to be shut down rather than lose power. Talk to your IT support and ensure that they are available to shut these down and turn them back on for the cut.
Uncontrolled power cuts sometimes come back on with power surges that can damage sensitive equipment. As these are intentional cuts surges are less likely, but it may still be sensible to buy a surge protector extension lead, or simply unplug sensitive equipment until the power has been back up for a few minutes.
Minimising business interruption
Your internet will turn off for the duration of the power cut. It may be that internet will continue to come into your building, which will mean that getting backup power to your networking hardware would allow you to stay online, but check if that’s the case with your internet provider.
Mobile internet from your phone should still work, and most phones allow you to turn on a wifi hotspot and share that internet with a laptop. No guidance has been released on this yet, but I’m assuming the increased mobile internet use during the cut may cause it to slow down or stop working entirely.
Card readers may not work, if you will need to take card payments during a cut take steps to provide backup power to them, and your internet; or purchase one of the card readers that can use the internet from a mobile phone.
Desk phones won’t work without power. Your phone provider likely has a way to route calls to a mobile number.
Where possible, it may be advantageous to ask your staff to work remotely. This will spread them among different Load Block areas, allowing at least some to continue work as normal. Ensure there’s a system for your staff to cover urgent business of others who may be in an unpowered area.
Fridges and freezers will turn off for the duration of the power cut. Home fridges will likely be able to retain an OK temperature for 3 hours so long as they aren’t opened too much; but seek specialist advice if you’re using fridges on an industrial scale or for goods that you sell.
Desktop PCs draw quite a lot of power, but laptops should last the duration on battery power.
Note that if you use cloud file storage (Dropbox, Onedrive, Google Drive etc.) your online-only files will be unavailable without internet. These services usually allow you to mark files to be kept on the device, which will allow you to keep working on them and automatically upload them once your back on internet. It may also be worth creating a ‘no internet grab bag’, a folder stored securely offline or printed with the key contacts and data you’ll need during a power outage.
Where can I get more details and updates?
It will be frontpage news if they do go ahead with cuts, and your electricity supplier will probably be in touch with you directly too.
The National Grid 2022 Winter Outlook Report goes into the detail of what they’re doing to prevent rolling blackouts and their likelihood
The 2019 Electricity Supply Emergency Code outlines the mechanics of the Load Block system.
Power Cut 105 has power cut advice for homes