7 Negative Consequences of Power Outages On Businesses

December 4, 2021

What are the negative consequences of power outages on businesses?

1. Medical facility problems
2. Unexpected equipment damage
3. Continued downtime and loss of productivity
4. Decreased income and revenue
5. Surplus or damaged inventory
6. Loss of company data
7. Unhappy customers

 

Most, if not all businesses rely on electricity to run their operations. Because of this, one of the main problems that your company could encounter is a power outage — which could occur due to natural disasters, human error, animal interference, and more. Unfortunately, even a quick loss of power can cause problems that can result in unexpected expenses. That’s why some organizations invest in a backup generator set in the Philippines. If you’re interested, here are the negative consequences of power outages on businesses. Read on.

 

Medical Facility Problems

Power outages can be detrimental if you run a medical facility because they could affect the operation of medical equipment. This could put people with serious medical conditions at risk especially if they rely on equipment like oxygen pumps and the like. For this reason, you should consider investing in generator sets to ensure continued access to power even in brownouts.

Other than medical facilities, your business could also be affected if you rely on air conditioning especially if a power outage happens in the middle of summer. The sudden increase in temperature can potentially cause heat-related conditions such as heat stroke.

 

Unexpected Equipment Damage

All types of equipment — whether it’s a computer, a refrigerator, or a piece of factory machinery — requires care. To ensure business continuity, these expensive devices are often inspected and maintained regularly.

But in a power outage, your equipment might become damaged, which can lead to unforeseen repair and replacement expenses. This is because when the power returns, it causes a power surge that can be detrimental to your electronic equipment. Fortunately, you can prevent this with a surge protector and by having an alternative power supply.

 

Continued Downtime and Loss of Productivity

A sudden power outage can cause unplanned downtime for your business, especially when the power doesn’t immediately return. If you don’t have an alternative source of power such as a generator set, your employees have nothing to work with. The equipment is inoperable and the communication with customers is also affected. Your workforce has no choice but to idle.

To compensate for the unplanned downtime, you might have to pay your employees to work overtime just to complete their tasks and reach the quota.

 

Decreased Income and Revenue

Since a power outage hinders your business operations, you won’t be able to deliver your products and services to customers as usual. This can be very problematic especially when you have a specific quota to reach each day. Depending on when the power outage occurs, the effect on your revenue could be small or catastrophic.

Depending on the cause of the power outage, the electricity might return sooner or later. Not having an alternative source of power will give you no choice but to wait, which could mean that your missed transactions could increase drastically.

 

Surplus or Damaged Inventory

If you operate similarly to other businesses, then there’s a good chance that your supplies are delivered on a regular schedule so you’ll always have items available for your customers. But because your products are left sitting on the shelves or in the stock room in a power outage, you’ll end up with a surplus of goods. Remember to talk with your supplier regarding your shipment schedule to avoid having an excess supply of goods.

This problem can become more of a headache if your business handles perishable items. Without the electricity to power refrigerators, freezers, and the like, you’ll end up with spoiled goods that you have to throw out.

 

Loss of Company Data

If your business relies on computers and electronic data storage, then power outages could be problematic for you. When the power suddenly goes out, computers are forced to shut down so the files that your employees have been working on could get lost.

If you have a backup solution in place that automatically saves data, there could be a gap in the amount of data saved depending on the backup schedule. In this situation, you might lose hours or days of information.

 

Unhappy Customers

Because a power outage leaves you with no choice but to stop serving your customers, you could end up losing them. Without electricity, communication channels will crash so you won’t be able to assist with their concerns. Chances are, they won’t know that you’re experiencing downtime due to a power outage.

If the power doesn’t return immediately, they might leave and look for other businesses that could serve their needs.

 

Key Takeaway

The ones affected by the power outages the most are businesses. Without a source of power, you have to halt your operations, lose sales, and pay for unexpected costs. Other than that, it could also damage the trust of your loyal customers so your reputation could be affected.

Now that you know the consequences of power outages on businesses, you can consider investing in a backup generator set. By having an alternative source of power, you can avoid downtime that could lead to high expenses and loss of customers. If you’re interested, you can send us a message here at Multico so we can help you choose the right generator set for your needs.