Hurricane Helene ripped through our area, decimating power grids, communications, and transportation / travel. The destructive impact on our lives was massive, and unfortunately even fatal for some in our area. Day-to-day life came to a screeching halt. Fallen trees wrecked homes and crushed cars; they tore down miles of power lines, clogged up roads, and isolated many in their homes and neighborhoods. The destruction was so widespread that even cell phone service in the days after the storm became spotty or non-existent in a number of areas.
For many employers and employees in the CSRA, an understanding emerged. With no power, no communications, and severely inhibited travel, conducting business became difficult. In the immediate hours after the storm, many businesses didn’t even open. Slowly over the ensuing days, these came back online as neighbors and work crews cleared roads, and as the power companies in the area slowly reconstructed the grid. Still, days passed before any remote sense of normalcy returned to the business environment.
Yet, for some business owners and employees in the area, work still had to be conducted. Of course, some of these employees worked in essential fields like healthcare. Consider not only obvious places like hospitals, but healthcare facilities providing skilled nursing or long-term care. But in the post-COVID era, many remote workers also suddenly found themselves unable to conduct business in the absence of power, phones, and internet. Or simply consider those businesses whose clients are scattered far from the CSRA – they still expect their product or services even if you don’t have access to the internet.
This got us thinking about resiliency for these essential businesses, remote employees, or simply those who do business regionally and nationally (and thus can’t afford to be offline for hours and days on end).
Deep resiliency requires two components: power generation and communications. Below are some thoughts on what this might look like:
Power Generation:
First, invest in a generator. A portable generator will do in a pinch if your power needs are minimal. Ideally, though, you have a whole house / standby generator that can power your home or your place of business.
Cost, fuel storage, and fuel type are the variables to consider here. Yes, a whole-house generator costs more. However, note that Generac, for example, offers very friendly financing (I saw one deal for 18 months financing with 0% APR) to make the investment easier to swallow. The primary advantage of a whole-house / standby generator is power. A portable generator will be cheaper, of course, but you’ll need to make sure that it packs enough of a punch to power what you need (and it likely won’t be able to power everything, and certainly not at the same time). The whole-house designation means just that – enough power to push a whole house.
In the case of a comprehensive disaster like Helene, where access to fuel was iffy for a short period, fuel type and storage are important considerations. A portable gasoline generator requires a lot of fuel to run for long periods, and not many people have storage space for dozens of gas cans in their garage. However, pricier portable possibilities include dual fuel options (giving you more flexibility) and inverter options which are both quieter and more efficient.
Fuel storage is another advantage of the whole-house generator over its smaller cousin. In significant disaster situations or medium-term outages (more than a few hours), having PLENTY of fuel on hand is vital. If your place of business has a natural gas line, that might be the way to go. A large propane tank would work for those homes and businesses not on natural gas.
Again, depending on what your business is, the whole-house generator with significant fuel reserves could power all of your electric needs indefinitely (if on a natural gas line) or for days, at least, before a refuel is necessary (if on propane). Note that on a propane tank, this could stretch to a period of weeks if you managed your electric load properly. For example, if it’s 78 degrees outside, you can put your big boy pants on and avoid running those HVAC units constantly.
One more suggestion here: if you have a whole-house generator installed, it will almost certainly be installed with an automatic transfer switch – meaning that it automatically cuts on when the main power goes out. However, for a portable generator, go ahead and have a manual transfer switch installed. This is far more efficient and convenient than trying to run a myriad of drop cords, and you’ll be able to power quite a bit more of your stuff.
Comms:
The second component that you’ll need to run your business during an outage/disaster is communications. Helene tore down cable lines and severely disrupted cellular networks. My mother-in-law’s house became a work hostel in the days after the storm since her internet was restored within a few days. But what about companies that can’t conduct business from their mother-in-law’s house?
Well, thanks to your boy Elon Musk, there’s an answer. If you have power and Starlink hardware, you have access to the internet. We know a few folks who bought the Starlink hardware and keep the Roam plan (right now @$50 / month) on the back burner just in case of emergency (or for various other reasons). Starlink business plans are more expensive but can be worth considering depending on your situation. But for the business prepper, the small investment of the hardware + Roam plan (or just the hardware which you can use later to activate a Starlink plan) might be worth it.
If your business is in a situation where loss of power for hours, days, or weeks results in catastrophic circumstances, you need to start thinking like a prepper. The reality is that a deep resiliency for business may not be out of reach, and it may allow you to keep up your business amid the chaos.