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The Energy Blog Is your business prepared in the event of a power failure?

Ensuring security of supply is one of Jersey Electricity’s core objectives. To achieve this, we focus heavily on ensuring our infrastructure is securely designed and well maintained as well as putting in place plans to restore power when equipment does fail. We have invested tens of millions of pounds in infrastructure to ensure supply security.

Major power failures are rare in Jersey. At time of writing we have suffered only five Island-wide outages in ten years. But no power provider can absolutely guarantee 100% security all of the time. Electrical components do fail from time to time. And even if provision is made to cover such events, a finite time is required to switch systems to cover the loss. It is therefore imperative that businesses, large and small, take steps to help minimise the effect a power outage would have on operations.

We recommend you conduct your own risk and business continuity assessments of all processes to ascertain the consequences of a loss of electrical supply. This assessment can only be done by the business consuming the power, since only it can know how the electricity is being used and the full consequences of a power cut to its customers. The impact of such a loss in a high-rise building with elevators, for example, is very different than for those working in a single-story retail establishment.

What you need to do

Establish a business continuity plan that includes responses to power outages with key employees, considering the impact of service disruption to health and safety, customer services and the business processes.

  • Determine the processes and equipment that would be affected by an outage such as computers, security / alarm systems, elevators, lighting, heating, ventilation and any specialist equipment that may be unique to your business.
  • Define roles and responsibilities and make sure everyone is trained on what to do in an emergency.
  • Ensure facility safety/evacuation procedures are clear and regularly tested. If doors are electrically powered, for example, ensure they can be opened manually.
  • Review and test the plan regularly.
  • Maintain an inventory of equipment. Identify critical equipment and determine what needs to be turned off during an outage.
  • Locate your electrical supply panels and know how to shut-off equipment power switches.
  • Make sure mobile devices are fully-charged at all times. Small, mobile battery packs can be purchased to provide extra power.
  • Consider a back-up power source such as a portable generator or Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) for equipment serving critical business processes or for sensitive equipment requiring a controlled shutdown
  • If you have an emergency lighting system, make sure it is tested and in working order.
  • Contact your customers and suppliers and share your plans with them in advance as appropriate.
  • Set up an off-site meeting location in case you have to evacuate.

Install back-up power - generators. Many businesses have their own back-up generators that will kick in in the event of a power outage and keep their business running smoothly. If you do install a back-up generator:

  • Always follow the manufacturer's instructions.
  • Only use generators in well-ventilated areas and always operate it outside. Petrol powered generators produce carbon monoxide and the fumes can be deadly.  Ensure that fuel tanks are regularly checked and filled. Ensure you have arrangements for sourcing fuel.
  • Connect equipment directly into the generator using heavy-duty, properly grounded extension cords. Make sure extension cords are not frayed or worn.
  • Never connect a generator to your building's wiring. Improperly connected generators can feed electricity back into the system, endangering the lives of workers trying to restore power.

Install back-up power – batteries. Some businesses could purchase an Uninterruptable Power Supply device (UPS). This is a device (or bank of devices or ‘cells’) that lets you work through short power cuts and will shut down your computer equipment safety minimising risk of loss of data. A UPS contains a battery that automatically takes over when the device senses a loss of primary power, giving you time to save your work and shut down your computer in a timely ordering manner before the battery runs out.

  • Test your back-up battery systems, emergency lighting, phone, security and fire protection systems regularly.
  • Ensure that the sizing of your back-up facilities is reviewed regularly to accommodate changes to any expansion of your business or internal electrical reconfiguration.
  • Review the required shutdown/restart times of all equipment. Determine how such timing can be accommodated in relation to power outages or interruptions.
  • Unplug or turn off all electrical equipment to protect it as power is restored.
  • Have at least one phone that operates without a switchboard or other system that requires power. A simple single line or a dedicated emergency cell phone (kept charged) can make the difference.
  • Train staff in the use of back-up equipment and ensure regular planned preventative maintenance and repair arrangements are in place.

After a power outage

  • Turn on the most essential equipment first.
  • Wait 10-15 minutes before reconnecting other equipment, to avoid overloading the electrical system.
  • Give the system time to stabilise.
  • Check to make sure everyone is safe and equipment is operating correctly.
  • Review your preparedness plan to determine what worked and what can be improved.

You can obtain the latest information on a power outage by following Jersey Electricity on Twitter @electricjersey

 

Your Customer Number

Your 5 character Customer Number can be found in the top right and bottom left corners of your bill.

Example electricity bill with the customer number highlighted

Daily Service Charge

The Daily Service Charge covers energy support services such as metering, billing, Customer Care, safety obligations and other energy support services.

Off-peak

Off-peak means not at the most popular time. Some of our tariffs provide discounted rates at off-peak times - for example, during certain periods at night.

Off peak charging times

Our current off peak electric vehicles times are from 00:00 to 06:59.

Dedicated supply circuit

A dedicated supply circuit is an electrical circuit that is set aside for a specific purpose, such as powering a boiler. It will work with a single appliance only.

It will have its own circuit breaker in your fuse box, and no other device or appliance will be able to draw power from it. A dedicated supply circuit ensures that appliances can draw the current they need without overloading your system, blowing a fuse or tripping an electric circuit.

Invoice Number

This can be found on the top right corner of your bill here

Example electricity bill with invoice number

Premise Number

This can be found on the top right corner and bottom left corner of your bill.

Example electricity bill with premise number highlighted

Payment Slip

This can be found at the bottom of your bill here

Bill payment slip example

Peak Load

Peak load or peak demand is a short period when the demand for electricity is at its highest.

Kilowatt Hours

Electricity consumption is usually measured in kilowatt hours, or kWh for short. Each kWh of electricity equates to 'one unit of electricity' for billing purposes. A 1kW (1,000 Watts) appliance in use for one hour = 1kWh (one unit). The cost per unit used depends on which tariff you are on.

Three phase

Residential homes are usually served by a single-phase power supply, while commercial and industrial facilities usually use a three-phase supply.

One difference between single-phase and three-phase is that a three-phase power supply better accommodates higher loads. Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, rather than large electric motors.

Another important difference between 3-phase power and single phase power is the consistency of power delivery. Because of the variations in voltage, single-phase power supply does not offer the same consistency as a three-phase power supply. A three-phase power supply delivers power at a steady, constant rate.

kVA

A kVA is simply 1,000 volt-amps. A volt-amp, or ampere, (VA) is the voltage times the current feeding an electrical load.

Embedded generator

Embedded generators like wind turbines and solar panels are connected to your electricity supply and provide electricity for onsite use. They also have the capability to export back to the grid.

Smart Card Number

Your Smart Card Number is the 19-digit number displayed below the barcode on your Smart Card.

The Smart Card Number also contains your six-digit Meter Number that is also displayed on your meter. You need this to top up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter whether at a Payzone outlet or online.

Example of Smart card for meter charging

Smart Card

A Smart Card contains your unique Smart Card Number used when topping up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter.

Example of a smart card for meter charging

F-Credit

F-credit is a Pay As You Go meter display and means Friendly Credit. It is the period between 9pm and 8am. If the credit on your meter runs out during this period, your supply will remain on until 8am.

Decarbonise

The process of reducing carbon by replacing fossil fuels with fuel that is less harmful to the environment such as low-carbon electricity.

Regenerative braking

With conventional braking systems, the kinetic energy that was propelling the vehicle forward gets converted to unwanted and wasted heat by the friction of the brakes.

Regenerative braking recaptures much of the car's kinetic energy and converts it into electricity, so that it can be used to recharge the car's batteries.

In addition to improving the efficiency of a vehicle, regeneration can significantly extend the life of the braking system, as the mechanical parts will not wear out as quickly.

Power factor

Power factor is the ratio of useful power in kilowatts (kW) to apparent power, measured in kilovolt amperes (kVA). A perfect power factor would be 1.0, however in reality this is almost impossible to achieve. Office buildings are usually between 0.98 and 0.92. Bad power factor is anything below 0.85.

Electric flow boiler

Electric flow boilers are simple to install, quiet in operation, 100% efficient and integrate into most existing radiator or underfloor piped systems. Plus, with no flue or storage tank, an electric boiler is a space-saving option that can be installed almost anywhere in your home.

Approved heating system

A heating system, approved by Jersey Electricity, on a dedicated supply for use on one of our discounted heating tariffs.

To learn more about what's required for an approved heating system, view our current approved heating guidelines.

20-digit payment code

The 20-digit payment code is issued with your receipt for a Pay As You Go (PAYG) meter top-up. If your meter did not charge automatically, you can do it manually with the payment code. Press button A on your meter then key in your 20-digit payment confirmation code on the meter keypad, then press button B. Your meter will recognise the amount paid and charge accordingly.

Single phase

Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, as in a domestic home, rather than large electric motors and higher loads. Single-phase power is a two-wire alternating current (AC) power circuit.