Generators: The Importance for Grocery Stores
Grocery stores are one of the beating hearts of any community. They’re the place most people go to get their staple foods and stock up for the week ahead. However, they are well known for running on razor-thin margins, often at 3% or even lower. As a result, they are the kind of business where any losses at all can be potentially catastrophic to their business model and future viability. This is part of what makes power outages so dangerous. There are many foods that must be kept refrigerated, and those refrigerators require power. In the absence of refrigeration, food can spoil fast and may cause significant loss per FDA regulations. It really is a worst-case scenario for any grocer.
What Can Be Done?
Thankfully, with a bit of preparation, not all has to be lost during a power outage. All grocery stores should be equipped with two things: an emergency backup generator, and UPS (battery backup) systems for the registers. UPS systems should allow your customers to continue shopping uninterrupted for upwards of two hours. In most cases, this is more than enough time for the local utility company to find the source of the outage and correct it. When this isn’t the case, every grocery store should have protocols in place designed to mitigate the losses that can stem from a prolonged power outage.
How to Prevent Losses During an Outage
There are many ways to mitigate losses during a prolonged power outage (defined as lasting longer than two hours).
The first way to mitigate those losses is to immediately power up your backup generator and shut down all other systems (computers, non-essential lights, electronic systems). The generator should be dedicated solely to powering the refrigeration units that keep your perishable products cool. This gives employees time to also transfer goods to allocated storage systems. Additionally, closed refrigerated units should not be opened once closed unless necessary. Heat naturally wants to establish an equilibrium. Opening the door will speed up the amount of time it takes for your perishable products to reach the temperature at which government regulations mandate they must be disposed of.
Depending on your location, you should ensure that your generator has enough fuel to last either for several days at a time, or that it is powered by a consistent source such as natural gas.
Alternatively, you may wish to install a commercial generator that can keep your business running at full capacity for days at a time in the event of an outage. The feasibility of this will depend on the location of your business, the frequency of such prolonged outages, and the capacity of your business to also rely on portable generators in the event that your primary generator needs to be refueled.
Additional Protocols
In the event of a prolonged outage that outlasts even a commercial generator, some grocers may consider the use of refrigerated trucks to maintain the shelf life of their inventory. The possibility of this will depend on your location and the nature of the disaster that caused the prolonged outage to begin with.
Are you a grocer in need of a generator? We here at GenTech can help. Contact our certified power generation professionals today to find the generator solution for you.