TVNZ's ASB Business interviews Jason Lewis Media Release

IT Power's Director, Jason Lewis, spoke to ASB Business host Michael Wilson this morning, about the importance of power protection for businesses. This interview was prompted in light of last week's power outage, in which thousands of businesses were left in the dark!

"The risks associated with not having an adequate power protection solution in place are significant," said Jason. These include lost revenue when phones and technology are down, damage to expensive equipment, data corruption and downtime. "Organisations also need to insure their power protection equipment is regularly maintained and serviced," added Jason.

Businesses need to be aware that their insurance policies may not cover an outage the length of Monday\'s power crisis, under the 'business interruption clause', according to the NZ Insurance Council. However, this need not be a problem if organisations have a comprehensive power protection solution as part of their risk management plan and ensure critical business operations have adequate backup power at all times.

There are several possible power protection solutions for an organisation. A business's primary line of defense is a UPS unit (uninterrupted power supply), which prevents power events from damaging critical equipment and provides a limited amount of backup time in the event of a power outage. A standby generator should be installed when a business needs backup power for a longer period of time. It is important that all power protection equipment is regularly serviced and maintained.

13 June 2009

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A Standby Generator... does your organisation need one? Industry News

The impact of loss of power to an organisation's operations is fresh in our minds after the extended Air New Zealand outage on a busy weekend this month. In this case direct financial losses were reported in the millions of dollars, and then there is also of course the negative impact to their brand, their customer experience, etc to consider.

So does your organisation need a standby generator solution? From a commercial aspect the answer to this can be calculated fairly easily by estimating the total cost to the organisation of extended outages (more than 10 minutes) and comparing this to the TCO (total cost of ownership) of a standby generator solution.

When estimating the total cost of a power outage a number of factors could potentially to be brought into the equation...

• Lost sales transactions (un-recoverable lost revenue)
• Lost ability to complete buying transactions
• Negative impact to the brand due to unavailability of services etc.
• Negative customer experience
• Negative impact to time-critical operations

And depending on the nature of your business, other factors could be...

• Impact to life support systems, medical procedures, etc.
• Power-essential processes interrupted with significant consequential losses (refrigeration, agriculture, etc.)
• Financial trading losses
• Complex multi-party schedules disrupted (transport, shipping, etc.)
• Security issues with loss of lighting, surveillance, access control, etc.
• Inability for your consultants to charge time (accounting, legal services, etc.

TCO of a standby generator solution could include many of the following costs...

• Capital equipment cost
• Rental or lease cost
• Installation costs (placement, mechanical and electrical works, commissioning, etc.)
• Maintenance, servicing, fuel and other consumables
• Real estate costs for generator location (carpark required, etc.)
• Insurance

Please feel free to call and discuss and of the above if you are interested in reducing the impact of power outages on the operation of any aspect of your organisation. Our generator solutions range from simple portable units to fully automated installations rated in excess of 800kVA, supporting complete electrical requirements for entire organisations.

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NZ Power Demand Could Outstrip Supply in 5 Years Industry News

Auckland will remain vulnerable to power cuts for at least another two years as Transpower works on ways to reduce the city's dependence on one electricity substation.
The New Zealand Herald, 04 September 2006

New Zealand is at risk of having electricity demand outstrip supply within five years, a report commissioned by the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association (CMA) says.

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Blackouts Fuel Support for Pylons Industry News

Auckland's massive blackout is fuelling support for Transpower's proposed transmission line across Waikato farmland to South Auckland.
Waikato Times - Tuesday June 13, 2006
By Esther Harward

The national grid company said some of the disruption yesterday could have been avoided if the new line was in place.

But energy analyst Molly Melhuish rubbished the claim, saying electricity would have been cut regardless of Transpower's plans to build a 220kV line by 2012, with an upgrade to 400kV.

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Power Protection A Must Media Release

On Monday hundreds of New Zealand businesses were drawn to a standstill because of the power blackout that stretched from Hamilton to Auckland's CBD.

The power outage lasting for several hours caused many businesses to suffer severe financial loss due to the loss of functionality of revenue generating systems, lost productivity, corrupted or lost data and hardware damage.

This need not have been the case. "Today it is imperative for businesses relying on IT equipment to ensure that they have a power protection system in place to protect this equipment," says Jason Lewis, Director of IT Power, a power protection specialist company. Organisations spend thousands on IT equipment, telephony and databases and frequently overlook any risk management for ensuring that this equipment remains operational in a power outage.

It is often not until a power outage occurs that businesses realise the necessity for power protection. Power protection should be part of a risk management plan. "With the current level of awareness regarding the instability of New Zealand's electrical power supply it is no longer acceptable simply ignore the risks associated with this", says Jason.

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Expect More Blackouts, Auckland Told Industry News

Auckland faces more power blackouts because the transmission system is old and stretched, New Zealand's most experienced electricity industry executive says.
The Dominion Post, 15 June 2006
By Martha Steeman

The claim, from Meridian Energy chief executive Keith Turner, follows similar comments he made in November, when he warned the grid was so overworked some lines could not be taken out for servicing. He said that was unheard of in the Western world.

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Business to Get Power-cut Insurance Shock Industry News

Many Auckland businesses are likely to be in for a shock when they find their insurance policies do not cover them for Monday's power blackout.
Tuesday June 13, 2006
The New Zealand Herald

The Insurance Council says many business policies have a time clause which means there is no insurance payout for lost turnover and lost profits unless a power cut was longer than 24 or 48 hours.

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Power Plans for Auckland Point North Industry News

"Generating significant power in Northland is critical to solving Auckland's long-term power needs", says Electricity Commissioner Roy Hemmingway.
Sunday Star Times, 18 June 2006
By Garry Sheeran

"Few, if any cities as large as Auckland had so much of their power go through one substation", he said. "That is an artefact of Auckland's geography where all the power comes from the south through a narrow land channel". He said "building another substation near Otahuhu to diversify the risk could prove a very expensive option".

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Nationwide Power Crisis Industry News

Auckland's power hangs by a thread.
The New Zealand Herald - Tuesday June 13, 2006
By Mathew Dearnaley and Martin Johnston

National electricity grid operator Transpower was under fire from political, business and civic leaders last night over the huge power cut that brought chaos to Auckland yesterday.

The cause was a small earth wire which a wind gust snapped off a high-voltage pylon near the Otahuhu B substation, short-circuiting lines supplying electricity for 700,000 or more people throughout Central, East and Southwest Auckland.