When a power outage in Macaé hits your company, the first question from the team is how long it will take for the grid to come back. While waiting for that answer, every hour without power impacts service, production, and the safety of those working with you.
You can face this moment with three ready answers: what to do in the first hours, how much the downtime costs, and who activates the backup power. Take a few minutes to read to the end and leave with this plan set up, with the support of our Macaé unit.
What the power outage disrupts in Macaé
In Macaé, the economy revolves around the support bases for the Campos Basin platforms. The support port operates 24 hours a day. When the grid goes down, cargo movement to the vessels slows down, and the offshore schedule comes under pressure.
In the warehouses and workshops working for these bases, the outage catches machines, compressors, and lift platforms in the middle of service. In Rio das Ostras, the Special Business Zone brings together suppliers of the oil industry, with factories and workshops that rely on steady power to keep running.
In the hospitals of Macaé and Rio das Ostras, where grid outages put lives at risk, backup power is a regulatory requirement. Carapebus and Conceição de Macabu, less than 40 km from our unit, face the same problem when the regional grid fluctuates.
What to do in the first hours without the grid
The size of the loss is determined in the first hours without power. Your team benefits greatly when they already know the order of actions from the first minute:
- Ensure people’s safety, turn off equipment that may be damaged when power returns, and mark risk areas.
- Separate the essential load, which includes equipment that cannot remain off while the grid is down.
- Report the incident to the utility company and note the protocol, the time of the outage, and the informed estimate.
- Activate temporary power if the estimate is uncertain or if the essential load is already at risk.
In this last step, time is saved by those who already have a rental contact defined. Our engineering team receives the list of essential loads, calculates the generator’s power at no cost, and the equipment arrives faster.
How to calculate what your company loses per hour of downtime
You decide faster between waiting for the grid or hiring temporary power when you already know the cost of downtime. It adds up the revenue that stops coming in, the payroll of the team that is not producing, and the contractual penalties for delays.
For those working with offshore support, the cost is higher because a delay at the port can affect the schedule of vessels and the clients who depend on them.
Our guide on how to calculate downtime cost shows the step-by-step to determine your operation’s value before the next outage occurs.
How to create a backup power plan for your operation
The backup power plan starts with a simple list of equipment that needs to keep running when the grid goes down, known as the critical load. Then comes the power of each item. Motors that start together are summed up because they draw more current at startup.
Once the list and power are defined, the plan still needs to answer three questions:
- Where the generator will be installed and how it connects to the company’s panel.
- Who on your team activates the plan and who communicates with the utility company and the supplier.
- How fuel supply occurs if the outage lasts longer than expected.
A plan on paper only shows its value when it undergoes a test with the actual load connected. See how to test the electrical contingency plan and organize this test without disrupting the operation’s routine.
Rented generator for emergency or installed on standby
To choose between the two formats, consider the frequency of outages in your area and how long your operation can withstand without power while the equipment arrives.
| Format | When it makes sense |
|---|---|
| Emergency generator | Occasional outages, construction or maintenance with a defined timeframe, operation that can withstand a few hours until the equipment arrives |
| Standby generator | Hospitals, support ports, and lines that cannot stop, with transfer to the generator as soon as the grid goes down |
The emergency generator resolves the outage that has already occurred when the operation needs power quickly, and it also serves maintenance with a defined timeframe. In the region’s oil companies, maintenance often requires the grid to be shut down, and the generator keeps the process running while the service takes place.
The standby generator is installed and ready to take over the load as soon as the grid fails. Our standby generator solution shows how this setup works.
How our Macaé unit serves you
Our unit is located at Avenida Lacerda Agostinho, 1568, in the Ajuda de Cima neighborhood, and closely serves Macaé, Rio das Ostras, Carapebus, and Conceição de Macabu. In these cities, we work with oil and gas companies, offshore support, and hospitals.
When you contact us, the equipment is operational in up to 24 hours, and our 24-hour on-call service monitors the operation as long as it depends on the generator. If your support base also needs a lighting tower for the night shift in the yard or an air compressor, both are included in the same generator contract. Up to 5 pieces of equipment can be included.
To request your estimate, learn about the generator rental at our Macaé unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to do when the power goes out at the company and the return time is uncertain?
First, ensure the safety of the team and separate the essential load. Then report the incident to the utility company. If the return time remains uncertain, activate temporary power before the outage compromises production or service.
How do I know which equipment in my operation needs backup power?
Make a list of equipment whose shutdown poses a risk to life, product loss, machine damage, or contractual penalties. These form the critical load that the generator needs to keep running.
Rented emergency generator or standby generator: which makes more sense for my company?
For occasional outages and services with a defined timeframe, the rented emergency generator is suitable. Hospitals, support ports, and operations that need to switch to the generator as soon as the grid fails require standby.
How to test the electrical contingency plan before needing it?
Simulate the outage with the actual load connected, as it would happen on a failure day, and check the switch to the generator. Then time the team’s response and note what needs adjustment in the plan.
