Blackouts can cause immense havoc in many ways for businesses, from lost data to damaged equipment to an irreparably damaged reputation. But with proper preventive measures and an efficient power protection solution in place, businesses can mitigate its detrimental effects.

As the first step of developing an emergency plan for dealing with blackouts, the initial step should include creating a Business Continuity Team comprised of key personnel from each department involved. This team should ensure all operations continue without interruption during an outage and that downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.

As part of your critical operations, it is also crucial that you put in place backup systems, such as cloud-based back ups, to protect data in case the power goes out for an extended period. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will provide emergency power during a blackout; this will protect hardware against surges that cause sudden increases in voltage which could otherwise result in failure.

Make sure you invest in a surge protector for your office to guard against damages from unexpected surges in electricity after blackouts, particularly important during hotter weather when air conditioners can often cause brownouts or even complete outages. Furthermore, having an effective communication plan in place for staff during an outage ensures they know exactly what steps to take efficiently when an incident arises.