Are we ready for significant power outages?

Have a quick look around you and see what is powered by electricity in your buildings, pretty much everything. We need to start asking questions, questions like:

1. Can we maintain Power for all our critical services through generator provision? Remembering that accessibility to large quantities of fuel becomes difficult without electricity.
2. Are we up to date with our alternative power supply testing regimes?
3. If our plans include the hire of generators, will they be available to you? Have you an agreement in place? Remember that everyone might want one.

The power outages may be localised meaning staff can work from other sites, therefore:

1. Have we alternative sites and are staff able to work remotely?
2. Can we switch sites/are staff happy to move?
3. Do we have a home working policy?

There are no hard and fast answers to this and you will no doubt be mindful that the only way to respond is to be aware, plan and test. I think this may well be the biggest issue facing practitioners over the next 18 months, being prepared for power loss on a grand scale is no mean feat, but with careful consideration of this issue in your plans between now and whenever will no doubt assist in your response.

Steve deBruin is the Business Continuity Lead at North Somerset Council, UK.