Emergency Plants: The Solution to Mega-Blackouts

Por
Luis Escobar
Equipment

On November 9, 1965, a major power outage left eight states on the North American East Coast paralyzed for thirteen hours, with more than 35 million people in the dark.

For the first time in its history, the United States was experiencing a gigantic electrical blackout that would also affect two states in Canada.

To this problem of obscurity, there would be problems in air traffic, in the media, in underground networks; in general, many cities such as New York City collapsed. Thousands of people were held prisoner for hours in elevators and trains that stopped.

One of the most notorious explanations for this topic was that the error was due to a collapse in the grid due to a 375,000 volt overload connecting Canada to the northeastern coast of the USA. This blackout was the first we know of many that the United States of America had to deal with.

Not far from this scenario, in the middle of February 2021, the United States and Mexico are dealing with the same problem. The reason, according to the authorities, is that the low temperatures that have occurred in the United States caused problems in the supply of natural gas for two reasons:

1. Increase of up to 20% in electrical energy

2. 30% reduction in the availability of renewable energy

One of the main problems is the damage to infrastructure and activities for the production, processing, transportation and distribution of natural gas in the USA, which, due to low temperatures, caused the freezing of many pipelines and fields, disabling more than half of the natural gas wells, which resulted in an increase in demand for hydrocarbon.

This made it very clear that the participation of products such as UPS, Generators and electrical supply equipment are indispensable in the economic and social life of a country in motion, because even if an electrical grid seems stable, there are always events that can get out of control and slow down the operation.

In times of mega-blackouts, it is always advisable to support your business with an emergency plant that will convert energy, which you receive from diesel or gas, into heating energy and with the mechanical movement of the engine it is possible to transform that energy into electricity.

It's not about replacing the power grid, but about helping you in the event of a blackout, so that the operations of your business and life are not drastically affected.

How Do I Know When I Need a Generator?

-Depending on the geographical area where you live: Depending on your location, there are places where you are more prone to natural disasters such as cyclones, hurricanes, storms, earthquakes, snowfall.

-Depending on the quality of electrical service: There are seasons or times when electricity service is poor.

-Distance to urban areas: Perhaps where you live or work you are far from urban areas and although they have basic services, there is often poor energy quality.

-Electrical Maintenance: The electricity company advises that it will maintain its lines and will therefore suspend service. This is the time when you need not to slow down your productivity.

-In the hotel industry: It is part of its essence, to provide the best service to guests and visitors, of course not having electricity would be a big problem. In addition, many hotels, due to their proximity to tropical areas, can suffer from many hurricanes that end with a lack of electricity.

-To save lives: Hospitals and health centers must have this equipment on a mandatory basis. Operating rooms, respirators, CT scanners, and many devices require continuous electricity to operate.

-With an industrial twist in general: Businesses cannot stop having energy because not only would they slow down their work activities, but electric shocks could also break down machinery or, for example, in the case of products that require permanent freezing, the lack of light would cause losses.