PG&E's Widespread Outage Proves Bay Area Businesses Need UPS Backup

If you’re reading this from Northern California, you’re one of the lucky ones!

Recent behavior by our local electric utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) shows that you simply can’t trust them to provide the service they get paid for.

PG&E has had problems for many years now. It recently started a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process after being found largely responsible for the devastating 2018 Camp Fire.

The Camp Fire has been described as the deadliest and most destructive fire in Golden State history. An investigation determined maintenance practices on PG&E equipment were partly at fault for igniting the blaze, in which more than 80 people were killed and over 150,000 acres burned.

That leads us to the situation Californians are facing today.

On October 9, PG&E began what it calls a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). With minimal warning and virtually no details, it began shutting down power to an estimated 800,000 Californians. Outages could impact some customers for as long as a week.

This includes residential customers who require home medical equipment.

Portable oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, and other vital devices may be inoperable. While “community centers” have been opened to help those at risk, there is no telling who has been left behind.

The Solution: UPS Service Contracts Bay Area Firms Can Count On

In the business world, restaurants and grocers have been hit hardest. However, the disruption will have untold repercussions for consumers, which may add uncertainty to the Bay Area economy for months.

Virtually the only type of business not affected by PG&E’s unprecedented move was hospitals. Most facilities have UPS generators and UPS service contracts Bay Area’s medical community has relied on for many years.

Now, other businesses should follow suit.

PG&E is not obligated to accept, or even hear, claims from business owners whose lives have been upended. In the meantime, millions of dollars in goods could be lost. Small companies may be forced out of business by a prolonged outage.

While it’s always wise to have an emergency plan in place, very few Californians could have imagined that the biggest emergency to strike this season would be self-inflicted. Many are wondering why equipment maintenance has not kept up with needs.

Let’s face it – businesses can’t rely on PG&E to keep the lights on. Contact Nite & Day Power today to get started with UPS service contracts Bay Area enterprises can count on.