Power Protection and UPS Blog

I read with interest on Guardian online that Britain’s oil and gas companies, including BP, Shell and British Gas which recently announced record profits, are saying they need improvements in tax breaks if they are to meet higher production targets in the North Sea.

On the one hand, in my view, it seems they are holding Britain (and every energy consumer in the country) to ransom; ‘give us the economic incentive or we wont invest in North Sea Gas!’. But if we can’t produce enough Gas at home our imports will have to increase and that, I think, is bad news. We have little or no control over foreign supplies, which could be affected by political, economic or regulatory issues beyond our control. We can’t influence continuity or security of supply nor pricing. I think for these reasons Britain’s energy companies should be given some incentivising tax breaks to protect our North Sea interests. Of course it’s a contentious issue and one that will run and run but how else are we supposed to compete on the world stage if we do not protect, or invest in, our own energy assets? Limited as they are we need to keep them operational.

I was asked to write an article last week about choosing the right UPS provider and it got me thinking about all the issues  to be considered as well as the all important price. Too many business managers are forced into selecting on price when doing so could actually cost more in the long run if it results in a less than perfect installation. Does the provider understand the mechanics and characteristics of your business, for example? There is a vast difference between protecting the critical systems of a healthcare establishment and a retail operation, for example. Do they add value to the installation by offering consultancy, site surveys, extended warranty, monitoring and maintenance, and so on, which reduce the overall running costs and total cost of ownership of the equipment? Does their culture match yours? Will you find their engineers lounging about reception, smoking and loudly regaling about last night’s football or will they be smartly but appropriately dressed, polite and professional whenever they are onsite?

Price, of course, is important but it should reflect criticality of the installation as well as value for money from the UPS itself and the benefits of the long-term partnership that the provider brings. UPS is critical to continuity of operations in the event of a power failure. It, therefore, needs to be given the same consideration as any other critical equipment in my view and a provider chosen because of their knowledge, sector expertise, ability to add value and product innovation.

For more informaiton on selecting a UPS provider visit: Riello UPS 

I feel short-changed, having read the specifications and code of practice of the new business continuity standard BS 25999 from BSI. As I mentioned here the other day, problems with mains power supply are far more common than most potential disasters. Incidents of interruption in electricity supply stood at 21 million in 2006 (according to a DTI report), other disasters (such as fire, flood, terrorism, public disorder and so forth) combined could not reach that total. Securing electricity supply is not merely about installing UPS, as with BCM it requires a well thought through and planned out strategy and this is not mentioned once in either the code or specification.

I do not wish to appear to knock the standard. It is, in my view, long overdue and much needed. But I feel that by not specifying a power continuity strategy, it is left wanting. Without electrical energy there would be no business continuity for most businesses and operations. That is a fact. It should, therefor, in my view be a central theme for any BCM strategy and therefore mentioned in BS 25999.

If you want to know more about what constitutes a power continuity strategy read The Power Protection Guide.

With this year’s DataCentreWorld conference and expo approaching, I’m reminded of the difference an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) footprint can make in a data centre where every square metre must earn its keep. Had you noticed how much data centre development is happening in The Channel Islands – well, as much as pressure on building land and the constraints of a few hundred square kilometres of beautiful sea-worn rock allow! As well as the usual resilience and power imperatives, one particular comms multinational was set on the smallest possible UPS footprint. And not just because space was tight either; this particular ‘big ask’ was driven by their awareness of the commercial benefits from a 35% space saving realised by their chosen power protection installation. It’s easy to focus on savings – in this case space. But how much more positive to take a bullish gains perspective instead – and imagine the customer’s delight on realising how many more revenue-earning client racks they could get into space that might otherwise be filled with essential, but bulkier, UPS kit. It’s a salutary tale and one I’m sure I’ll re-tell more than once as I leave my footprint in Barbican Hall 1 next week.

Last week I read with interest that more than half (60%) of UK companies are considering certification on the new British Standard for business continuity – BS 25999, according to a survey by Business Continuity Expo 2008. 

It would seem that UK plc is waking up the fact that downtime, of any description, is no longer excusable - particularly on the world stage where the nearest competitor in many business sectors is merely a click away.

I wonder, however, how much emphasis is being placed on certification rather than development of true business continuity practices and implementation of continuity solutions, like power continuity? Without electricity these days there is no business continuity.

I am all for the British Standards and think it is a good thing that so many organizations are planning to take BS 25999 seriously. My concern is that they do not adopt a ‘shortcut to compliance’ attitude as I fear so many of their competitors will.  Anyway, in terms of power continuity, here are a few tips:

1. Obtain a true measurement of your energy use and power capacity. This will highlight areas where you can implement energy efficiency measures whilst enabling you to size power protection equipment such as UPS and generators.
2. Identify systems that can be affected by power problems and categorise them into critical, essential and non-essential loads.
3. Assess typical power quality problems in your area: sags, brownouts, surges, electrical interference, harmonics, blackouts and possible applicable solutions.
4. Consider UPS power protection and emergency back-up power generation (diesel generator, flywheel). Build in maximum levels of reliability and resilience.
5. Develop monitoring and maintenance plans. Consider remote monitoring of UPS by a reputable provider like Riello UPS as an option. Build in a test schedule whereby equipment can be tested under load conditions to ensure it is working.

For more information on power protection see The Power Protection Guide.