Few people know how close we came to a major blackout just before Christmas.
Because the demand for electricity was so high compared to the supply of electricity, a wide swath of the nation’s power grid was at risk for extensive blackouts that could have been as severe as the north-east blackout in August 2003, one Duke Energy executive told a hearing.
Had Duke not purposely reduced the amount of energy demand pulling on its grid, the stability of the Eastern Interconnection – the bulk electric system that stretches from central Canada to Florida and west towards the Rockies – was at risk, said Sam Holman, Duke’s vice-president of transmission and system operations at a January hearing of North Carolina’s utility regulator.
Many lives were saved because of the swift action of not only utilities but also the large number of companies and organizations that reduced their load by turning off equipment or by turning on their backup generators.
Having a backup generator not only protects your business but it can help to protect everyone else as well by keeping the grid on-line. This is why most utilities have great incentives for backup power and demand response.
These programs can be a bit tricky and you still need to purchase the generator, unless you take advantage of Backup Power as a Service. Exergy Energy, your concierge utility, can provide all you need to be more efficient, avoid blackouts and save money. All with no upfront cost. We provide backup power as a service and will keep you running during the inevitable outages and help protect your neighbors from grid disruption.