Businesses and organizations operating in or around the capital at that time of the 2012 Olympic Games will be significantly more susceptible to power cuts, interruptions and power problems (sub-standard quality, which can cause brownouts, spikes, transients, sags, surges, electrical noise, harmonics, frequency fluctuations, which can all result in damaged equipment and data loss or corruption).
Power cuts have been synonymous with Olympic games throughout modern history: In 2008, China shut down power hungry industries, such as petrochemicals, due to severe power shortages in some host cities. Sydney Airport suffered a total power failure during the 2004 Olympic Games. Athens, too, was not without power problems - but was without power on a number of occasions - during the games in 2000.
For 2012, the Olympic Development Authority has secured autonomous power generation at Stratford City and Olympic Park, to help ensure the games themselves go without a hitch. But demand for electricity during that time is unpredictable and London businesses (already having to compete for energy in an overcrowded market) will face unprecedented vulnerabilities. For them, securing electricity supplies cannot be guaranteed without implementation - now - of a robust power protection strategy, including installation of UPS (uninterruptible power supplies), a source of alternative standby power (diesel generator, for example) and fuel storage.
Now is the time, whilst there are two years, to prepare for power protection in 2012. It starts with a review of power protection requirements in terms of criticality of load, capacity, load size, the need for redundancy and resilience, sufficiency of existing uninterruptible power supplies and the need to reduce or minimize energy consumption.
Existing uninterruptible power supplies may require a complete overhaul to ensure their full and reliable operation for the duration of the games and lead up to them. This is particularly true if they are seven years old or more, or will be in the next two years, when an overhaul is usually carried out.
UPS overhaul is a preventative maintenance service, carried out every seven years or so, which involves equipment disassembly and inspection of parts for signs of wear-and-tear or other abnormalities. An overhaul takes into account every piece of equipment in a power protection solution.
A power protection solution contains many consumable components, which will require replacement at certain times throughout its lifetime. The purpose of an overhaul is to determine when and if replacement is necessary at any given point, rather than waiting until a breakdown occurs. There are also rotating or 'wearable' parts not considered 'consumables' but with an indeterminate 'end-of-life'. A visual inspection of these at overhaul will spot signs of wear or imminent breakdown. In general, during a UPS overhaul, parts will be cleaned or replaced if faulty, re-greased and/or lubricated where necessary and generally preserved in tip-top condition, thus eliminating the causes of deterioration such as abrasion, looseness and dimensional changes.
Now is the time for businesses to take a considered look at their requirements in terms of how much electrical energy they need to secure from their utility supplier to see them through the next few years. This is particularly true in high-end computing environments where business is expanding and applications growing at unprecedented rates. In these environments, managers may feel secure now but may find themselves in a difficult situation in 2012 if they have to approach their utility provider and ask for another 1MV of electrical capacity a week before the Olympic build up!
If businesses know or can predict that they themselves will be busier for the duration of the games, perhaps hiring in additional capacity, uninterruptible power protection and onsite generation to cover them for that period could be a wise move.
Used in isolation or with a combination of uninterruptible power supplies and generating systems, a Static Transfer Switch is ideal for use in projects that require the highest possible levels of resilience and protection of critical loads including data centres, security, surveillance and transportation systems.
Static transfer switches cater for high power ratings and can be hardwired for either single or three-phase inputs and outputs. They can also be connected in parallel to provide additional resilience. Care has to be taken to ensure a single-point-of-failure is not introduced on the output side of the uninterruptible power supply. Each device is fused or protected by a circuit-breaker and should this rupture or open, the load could be dropped.
Small businesses and those further away from the action (outside London) are not immune either. In many cases, the further they are away from the main electrical distribution hub the less reliable their supply will be (and the more prone to power problems as described earlier). If electrical supplies are strained in built up and urban areas, you can bet your life they will be more so in rural areas and further a field.
The only way of securing electrical supply during the 2012 Olympic Games is to ensure adequate, effective and properly planned power protection strategy with the implementation of uninterruptible power supplies and onsite, independent generation.
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