Emergency Power Upgrades in Critical Facilities: Strategies for Risk Mitigation

This article discusses risk mitigation strategies for emergency power upgrades in critical facilities such as hospitals and data centers. Larger facilities and campuses typically have complex emergency power systems, which rely on multiple standby generators, control systems for paralleling and automatic transfer sequences, switchgear, and medium-voltage power distribution systems. Integration among components is essential in ensuring the reliable operation of the emergency power system. Given the critical nature of the loads supported by emergency power systems, downtime is unacceptable. There are a number of risk mitigation strategies that can be undertaken to minimize the operational risk associated with equipment upgrade projects. This article will review successful strategies from two separate projects that involved completely upgrading emergency power systems.