Research carried out by UK Power, in August 2023, highlighted that power outages are something that the UK public is becoming increasingly familiar with. Whether caused by adverse weather, high energy demand, or failures within the electricity network, the data revealed that two-thirds of respondents had experienced a power cut in their local area, 23% experienced power cuts annually, and 4% experienced a loss of power every two to three weeks. The survey results also showed that power cuts last up to two and a half hours on average across the UK. 

The frequency and longevity of these incidents means the impact on households is undeniable – ranging from lack of phone and internet use, to being unable to use other electrical appliances, or losing food stored in freezers. For businesses operating in the affected areas, power outages can result in a loss of data, lost production and productivity, damage to sensitive machinery and equipment, lost sales, missed deadlines, and reputational damage. 

During the 2023/34 storms season, which runs from September ‘23  to August ‘24, the UK has already seen a number of named storms –  Agnes, Babet, Ciarán, Debi, Elin, Fergus and Gerrit in 2023, Henk, Isha and Jocelyn in Jan ‘24, and Kathleen in April. A storm will be named when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning – both of which include the risk of power cuts. This weekend – the impact was widespread – with power cuts reported from Great Yarmouth to Weymouth. In Ruthin, a town in South Wales, an outage caused the Tesco store to lose thousands of pounds worth of stock. 

Paul Brickman, from Crestchic loadbanks, explains, “Even the briefest of power outages can have a catastrophic impact on businesses of all sizes. The UK is becoming more dependent on electricity, and networks, processes and value chains are becoming increasingly complex and interdependent. Add extreme weather events and the changing energy landscape into the mix, and having a power resilience plan is fast becoming a business necessity.” 

To reduce both the risk and impact of outages, Paul and the Crestchic team recommend that businesses have backup power systems in place – and that they regularly test these power systems to ensure that they will work effectively should an outage occur. 

Paul continues “A good testing regime involves using a loadbank to commission and test backup power systems. In the case of a generator, a loadbank should be used to apply a load to the equipment in controlled, non-emergency conditions. Doing this means we can test how the generator – and its fuel, exhaust, and cooling systems – will respond under emergency conditions. This is the only way to ensure that your business can continue to operate in the event of a power cut. And, with the frequency of outages on the rise, businesses should heed the warning, and ensure their backup power systems are in place, and working efficiently”. 

For more information on how to reduce the impact of power outages on your business operations, speak to our team.

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Head of French energy regulator RTE, Xavier Piechaczyk, stressed in a recent government briefing to local authorities that power cuts are not inevitable, but explained that the aim was to reach between 40 and 41 gigawatt of available nuclear power by the beginning of January 2023 and end the month with around 43 – significantly less than the nation’s 61 gigawatts of total capacity.

Why doesn’t France have enough power?

In recent months, European nuclear power providers have been scrambling to bridge the deficit created when Moscow cut off gas supplies in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the European Union over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During this same period, French power supplier EDF experienced an unprecedented number of reactor outages that reduced nuclear output to a 30-year low.

What will happen if electricity supply becomes too low?

Piechaczyk explained that if the country’s electricity monitoring application, Ecowatt, displays a red light in response to dwindling electricity reserves, there would be a need to load users partially off the power grid.

Partial load shedding is a term used to describe the prioritisation of power allocation. The government has issued binding instructions to regional government officials on how to prioritise power if the app displays a red right. In addition, these instructions urge local officials to meet with local authorities and businesses to make sure all emergency power generators are working.

This is an important message for all businesses that want to remain operational during planned power cuts – make sure you have access to a generator, and more importantly, make sure that generator is in full working order. Generators are an emergency energy source, so by their nature, they spend large amounts of time unused, increasing the risk of failure when you need that emergency power most. Testing generators now, before any planned power cuts will ensure that should your business be partially offloaded from the grid, your business will remain operational.

How should French local authorities and businesses check the performance of their generators?

Having a generator in place is the right first step to ensuring your business can remain fully operational during a planned power cut, but this does not guarantee power resilience.

Before the planned power cuts, businesses should conduct thorough testing to validate the reliability and performance of backup power under the types of loads found in real operational conditions. The only way to do this is to use a load bank to simulate the operational load that a generator would encounter. This process “tests” the generator – including fuel, exhaust and cooling systems, and alternator insulation resistance – to ensure that it is fit for purpose in the event that it is called upon.

Ideally, generators should in fact be tested at least annually using a resistive-reactive 0.8pf load bank, to ensure they can perform in real-world emergency conditions. If multiple gensets are run in parallel, they should be run in a synchronised state, ideally for 8 hours but for a minimum of 3. Where a resistive-only load bank is used (1.0pf), testing should be increased to 2-4 times per year at 3 hours per test minimum.

A robust testing regime ensures that generators are effectively tested and system issues can be uncovered in a safe, controlled manner without the cost of major failure or unplanned downtime.

Test now before planned power cuts commence

In reality, not many maintenance engineers uphold a regular testing schedule to ensure the performance of their generators. This puts the generator at risk of failure – with the fuel, exhaust and cooling system untested, along with the potential for embedded moisture, putting the system in the very high-risk category.

For businesses in France, now is the time to rectify this. By using a load bank now to test back up power systems, there is still time to make many essential repairs before the anticipated planned outages. Power resilience is an increasing concern, and the difficulties faced this winter are unlikely to be a one-off. Using a load bank to prepare for the planned outages this year will provide a sound foundation for the development of an ongoing maintenance regime into 2023 and beyond.

To find out more about how to incorporate backup power testing into your business continuity plan, speak to our team here: sales.uk@crestchic.com or use our contact form here: Contact Form

The post FRENCH POWER: How should French businesses prepare for possible power shortages? appeared first on Crestchic leading manufacturer of load banks.