The incidence of power outages has increased over the past several years.

Of reported power outages, over 83% of them were weather related, and with the changing climate have only become more common.

Whether caused by hurricanes, winter storms, or other natural disasters, power outages don’t discriminate, and your Western North Carolina business always has the chance of being affected. So, what should you do to help protect your business, employees, and profits?

Keep reading for some tips!

•Have a Plan.

Have an emergency plan in place to account for potential power outages.

Know What Type of Power Failure You Are Dealing With.

Power outages fall into three general categories: blackout, brownout, and permanent fault. Knowing what you’re up against can help you formulate the plan best suited to your needs.

Blackout:

Blackouts are among the most common interruptions in the electricity grid. These are often large-scale power outages often caused by extreme weather events or natural disasters.

Brownout:

Brownouts, on the other hand, are caused by the grid operating at maximum or above maximum capacity. This is similar to what recently happened over the holiday season where extremely cold temperatures in Asheville and Hendersonville caused renters, businesses, and homeowners to rev up their heating systems which then Duke Energy began remotely shutting off and reducing the electricity flow for short periods of time. Their goal was to conserve what energy they could during this event. Once temperatures normalized, power was restored, and demand didn’t exceed the power grid.

Permanent Fault:

Permanent faults are most often the cause of power outages when they are isolated and occur randomly until the utility pole or infrastructure is repaired to prevent it from happening again. Car accidents, animal damage, bad wires, equipment, or poles are most often responsible for permanent fault outages. Once fixed, power is restored immediately in most cases.

• Report the outage.

When the power goes out at your business, the first thing you should do is call your utility company and report the outage. On especially bad weather days, when crews are out working on widespread power failures, this may take several hours or more until power can be restored.

• Protect Your People.

If winter weather is on its way, help ensure your employees’ safety by allowing them to stay home, if possible, accommodate work-from-home requests if possible/applicable, or make the executive decision to close for the day if the power is likely to be out for an extended period of time.

• Invest in a generator.

If your business does not already have one, consider investing in a generator to be prepared for future power outages.

• Buy and use surge protectors.

Surge protectors help avoid serious damage to your business’s electronics in the event of a sudden power surge after an outage. They are also effective in protecting electronics during other weather events such as a lightning storm.

• Regularly back up and save vital server files crucial to your business.

Nearly all of us have experienced a loss of work after not saving it regularly or forgetting to put it on autosave. With a heavy reliance on technology and it working as it should; power outages can wreak havoc on IT departments, point-of-sale devices, and more if your business is not prepared. This can lead to a loss in profits, work, and hard-earned business.

Don’t let your small business be a victim of winter power outages. By following some of the aforementioned steps, you can protect your business even when a power outage strikes. For more information on how to prepare your business and employees for power outages, click here.