With Alberta’s electricity system expected to be over 100 times less reliable by 2038, it’s become increasingly essential for businesses to have efficient backup systems in place. When Edmonton outages occur, your industrial standby generator is your first line of defence. Without it, your business could face lost revenue, missed deadlines, and major operational disruptions.
Explore below with us here at TRIC Power Products, as we explore these commonly overlooked costs and maintenance gaps. We’re northern Alberta’s chosen generator experts, supporting industrial businesses with our proven, responsive solutions. Read on!
Unplanned Downtime: What a One Outage Can Really Cost
Not having a reliable industrial standby generator on hand can cost your Edmonton business more than you may expect. How much, exactly? While figures differ from case to case, larger industrial or commercial facilities with a higher megawatt demand can often lose up to $50,000 in a five-minute power outage.
In Edmonton, the average power outage lasts anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. That means a large industrial facility can potentially lose up to $1,000,000 per outage, not including indirect costs. During periods of peak production, these amounts can climb even higher.
The Ripple Effect of Standby Generator Failure
When a power outage occurs and you’re not ready for it, it creates a firm bottleneck. No power, even for a few minutes, completely disrupts your entire chain. Whether you’re at an oil refinery or a construction worksite, the workload comes to a complete pause. Then, once grid power finally returns, it’s all too common to face a multi-day backlog of work to complete.
The result of your industrial standby generator failing includes:
- Over time and additional labour costs
- Logistics timelines pushed back
- Scheduling that needs to be adjusted
- Lowered client satisfaction
Some industrial facilities, like oil refineries, face even more severe hazards. These facilities have multiple complex processes with high temperatures and reactive substances. Refineries face severe issues during power outages, including flaring, equipment failure and even explosions. Standby generations can mitigate these hazards by keeping facilities operational or at a stable non-operational state.
The Maintenance Gaps That Lead to Costly Surprises
It’s all too common for businesses to have their standby generator installed on-site, but they forget about the maintenance required. While many modern industrial standby generators have automatic self-tests, it’s not enough. These tests can determine if the generator itself will run briefly, they can’t test if the entire system will work during a power outage.
Industrial standby generators work by monitoring the connected power supply with their Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS). When this switch detects an outage, it shifts the load to it. Standard automatic testing only tests the generator itself, and not the ATS switch. While not exceedingly common, ATS switch malfunctions do happen. In these cases, even if the generator itself is working properly, a faulty ATS switch makes it useless.
Automatic self-tests also often fail to catch weak batteries, which can easily pass automatic testing features. But once the power kicks off, you need a fully charged battery powering your standby solution. Otherwise, you’ll be left with an industrial standby generator that won’t run for very long.
One Failure Can Lead To Five Figures.
At TRIC Power Products, we know the risks that come with unexpected standby generator failures. That’s why we’re here to support you when worst comes to worst—at all hours of the day (and night!). We offer comprehensive 24/7 emergency generator repair services if your generator is failing when you need it most.
With over 19 years of field-proven experience, we’re Northern Alberta’s trusted partner for industrial generator support. Contact us today to book your appointment or visit our Edmonton location to receive expert assistance.