Severe storms can be devastating in terms of facility damage and lost revenue. Although employee safety is the first order of business, you also want to reduce the impact of a storm on operations.
Is your business ready? Storm preparedness should include emergency action procedures to ensure the safety of your staff and facility, as well as adequate backup power to keep your critical equipment functioning in case of an outage. For cleaner-burning and reliable backup power, natural gas generators are a great choice.
The importance of backup power
Although a severe storm can be devastating to a business, a long-term power outage can be equally harmful. Downtime for essential equipment can result in lost revenue and threaten critical data. Reliable backup power will keep your operations running during an outage and protect your vital information.
A variety of fuel choice options — natural gas, diesel, propane and gasoline — are available for backup power generation. Although diesel is commonly used, it has several limitations:
- Large on-site fuel tanks increase maintenance costs and create additional safety concerns.
- Diesel has a limited shelf life (12 to 18 months), requiring a fuel stabilizer or periodic refilling.
- High levels of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants are produced.
The benefits of natural gas
Natural gas generators offer a number of advantages that make them an excellent choice for providing reliable backup power for your business:
- Unlimited fuel source. Natural gas is piped directly to the generator; no need to install and refill costly storage tanks.
- Cleaner burning. Natural gas emits far lower levels of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants than diesel and gasoline.
- Available during power outages. Natural gas pipelines are located underground and aren't usually impacted by the elements or mechanical disruptions that cause power outages.
The natural choice
Natural gas generators are the right choice if you're concerned about the environment, have onsite fuel storage tank restrictions and need long-term availability after a power disruption. Overall, natural gas can provide the kind of low-maintenance, clean-burning and reliable backup power that businesses need.
