Small Businesses Are Unprepared For Power Outages: Next Blackout Could Put Them In The Red
Emerson Survey Reveals That Majority of Small U.S. Companies Do
Not Have Back-up Power Systems
ST. LOUIS--(Business Wire)--
If the power goes out, will America's small businesses be
prepared? Not really, according to the results of a recent survey
commissioned by Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson
(NYSE:EMR) and the global leader in enabling Business-Critical
Continuity(TM).
The survey results indicate that the issue is not really "if" the
power will go out but "when." Consider these statistics:
-- 79 percent of the small-business decision-makers surveyed
experienced at least one power outage in 2007.
-- 67 percent of respondents anticipate experiencing outages
again in the next 12 months.
-- Even more alarming is that of the small businesses that
experienced outages in 2007, 42 percent had to close their
businesses during the longest outages.
And while small-business decision-makers ranked outages above
fire, government regulation, weather damage, theft, and employee
turnover as threats to their businesses, only 39 percent of them have
back-up power systems, leaving 61 percent vulnerable to the negative
business impacts of outages.
"Keeping the lights on, the computers running, and employees
working during a power outage is important for any business, but
particularly for small businesses," said Ed Feeney, an Emerson
executive vice president who heads up Emerson Network Power's Systems
business, which provides back-up power technologies. "Their margin for
error is thinner and the competition's tighter, so even a brief outage
can do significant harm. This makes back-up power systems a
fundamental part of business continuity."
In a tight economy, a plunge into darkness could put a small
business in the red. On average, power outages cost about $80 billion
each year, with most losses - 98 percent - borne by businesses,
according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
"Emerson's survey findings are alarming considering that more than
99 percent of all American businesses are small businesses, with these
companies generating 45 percent of the total U.S. payroll," said Steve
Strauss, nationally syndicated business columnist and author of "The
Small Business Bible." "It is critical that small enterprises have a
business-continuity plan that includes back-up power systems to keep
the business running when the main power source goes down."
John Zagara, owner of Zagara's Marketplace, a Cleveland-area
supermarket, needs no convincing. "During the massive blackout of
August 2003, the power went out mid-afternoon. Our back-up power
system automatically switched my electrical source to a natural
gas-powered generator which ran all registers and certain refrigerated
equipment," Zagara said. "Our front-end staff continued to check out
customers until closing at 9 p.m. Our customers were in awe of our
service delivery." Zagara's back-up power equipment enabled him to not
only continue serving customers, but to save meat and frozen foods,
valuable perishable inventory.
Zagara utilizes a back-up generator and an ASCO power transfer
switch from Emerson Network Power. A power transfer switch
automatically detects a loss of power from the main power source and
turns on a back-up generator within seconds. When the main source of
power returns, the switch safely shuts down the generator and
reconnects to the main power source.
To help small businesses understand the impacts of power outages,
Emerson Network Power has launched a back-up power information
resource at www.emerson.com/smallbusiness. It includes an online tool
small companies can use to measure their vulnerability to the impacts
of outages.
Emerson Network Power released the findings of the survey in
conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the Great Blackout of 2003,
which began on Aug. 14, 2003, when an overgrown tree tangled with
sagging power lines in Ohio and triggered a series of human and
technology gaffes that resulted in the largest power outage in North
American history. The blackout left 50 million people in the
Northeastern United States and Canada in the dark - some for days -
and cost the economy an estimated $6 billion in productivity.
About Emerson Network Power
Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR), is the
global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity(TM) from grid
to chip for telecommunication networks, data centers, health care and
industrial facilities. Emerson Network Power provides innovative
solutions and expertise in areas including AC and DC power and
precision cooling systems, embedded computing and power, integrated
racks and enclosures, power switching and controls, monitoring, and
connectivity. All solutions are supported globally by local Emerson
Network Power service technicians. Learn more about Emerson Network
Power products and services at www.EmersonNetworkPower.com.
About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE:EMR), based in St. Louis, is a global leader in
bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative
solutions to customers through its network power, process management,
industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools
businesses. For more information, visit www.Emerson.com.
About the Survey
Between June 17 and 30, 2008, Decision Analyst Inc., a leading
international marketing research and marketing consulting firm,
conducted an online survey of 451 small-business decision-makers on
the topic of power outages. Emerson Network Power, a business of
Emerson, commissioned the survey.
The survey was conducted using a proprietary online panel of more
than 110,000 executives in businesses of all sizes. (More than 27,000
of these executives are in small companies, defined as having 99 or
fewer employees.)
Panelists are recruited through direct mail, telephone calls,
email and distribution lists, and banner ads on select Web sites. All
participants must "opt-in" to participate in surveys. Decision Analyst
continuously refreshes its panel with new recruits to offset
attrition.
An online study is appropriate with this target audience because
small-business executives have access to and use the Internet.
Fleishman-Hillard
Emily Caine, 314-982-7722
emily.caine@fleishman.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
