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Utility Contingency Planning

Energy Contingency Planning And Disaster Recovery Strategies For Business Continuity

We partner with transmission and distribution companies to plan ahead for emergencies and disasters, delivering temporary power solutions that help their communities stay connected, even when the unexpected happens

Every year, thousands of homes and businesses experience energy outages for hours or days because of emergencies, equipment failure, and natural disasters. Everyone in transmission and distribution has a vital role to play in planning for these scenarios – and accelerating estimated time to restoration (ETR) in a way that’s cost-efficient and practical. 

At Aggreko, we combine our sprawling fleet of energy equipment with expertise in utilities and recovering from emergencies at scale. We can help you: 

  • Anticipate your needs before disaster strikes
  • Establish clear responsibilities and workflows for emergencies
  • Rapidly implement temporary energy to get your customers re-energized
  • Prioritize contingency plans for your aging or over-capacity equipment and substations
  • Embed strong risk mitigation and reduce the cost of recovery
Why rely on us for contingency planning? 

Our hands-on experience working with utilities and transmission as well as distribution means we can help you plan earlier–and recover faster.

  • Local help - Our scale and reach mean we can deliver emergency equipment faster, wherever you’re based.
  • Turnkey solutions - We design disaster recovery energy strategies around your infrastructure and biggest risks.
  • Detailed planning - Including equipment, engineering, logistics, people, and management.
  • More than energy - We can also provide backup transformers, air, and cooling, all from one source.
Improving grid resilience and performance

From planned upgrades to unplanned emergencies, we deliver cooling, dehumidification, and energy solutions that keep utility operations running safely and efficiently – no matter the challenge.

Helping you deliver continuous energy 
  • Plan for and prioritize your biggest risks with help from a team of utility contingency planners who know what it takes to recover quickly and cost-effectively. We’ll work with you to audit your infrastructure, then prioritize risks like weather events or points of weakness like transformers that regularly run over their rated capacity.
  • Replace recovering assets to keep your customers energized with a wide range of low-emissions generators and energy solutions including complete temporary substation. We’ll make sure you have all the equipment you need ready to go when disaster strikes, so you can reduce customer minutes of interruption and meet your service standards.
  • Extend your disaster recovery energy strategies with contingency planning that includes the additional equipment required to reinstate service. We’re your single source for a full range of equipment—including HVAC and compressed air, so you can get everything you need from one trusted provider to keep your operations running safely and smoothly.

Discover our contingency planning solutions       

Aggreko’s Smarter Approach: Helping you recover with reliability and performance

Our engineered solutions are designed to keep your operations efficient and cost-effective, even when temporary equipment is supporting your main infrastructure. With our turnkey approach, you can reduce downtime, optimize performance, and control costs: 

Read about our success stories     

View of a coastline from space

Utilities

Keeping critical facilities running during a hurricane
Aggreko was instrumental in keeping critical facilities up and running and residents safe throughout Louisiana during the landfall of the hurricane Ida.
Aggreko generators active on a job site

Utilities

Powering post-hurricane recovery in Houston
Learn how Aggreko provided a reliable and cost-effective power solution using LNG generators for a property management firm in Houston, enabling rapid restoration after a catastrophic hurricane.
A white Aggreko pickup truck, parked near a temporary green fence. Behind the fence, dark, containerized industrial units are visible, positioned against a concrete retaining wall and green hill.

Utilities

Engineering support and uninterrupted service amidst aging infrastructure challenges
Aggreko supplies a utilities' substation with power to keep an ongoing movie production working during maintenance

Want to know more?

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Do You Have a Contingency Plan in Place?

Frequently asked questions 

A row of three black Aggreko generators in gravel yard, a hill behind them, and multiple wind turbines behind the hill
01

Business continuity power planning is the process of preparing backup energy strategies to protect you in the event of an outage. These outages could be caused by emergencies, equipment failures, or extreme weather. Whatever the cause, good continuity planning can help you get your energy transmission and distribution solutions back online and restore service.

For utility companies, a business continuity power strategy can help protect your compliance with service reliability standards, as well as safeguard customer experience and the well-being of your people.

The right partner will help you build a plan that identifies critical risks, help you pre-stage temporary energy equipment if necessary, and define which workflows need to be prioritized for energy in the event of an emergency.

02

We support utilities with turnkey contingency solutions that include low-emission generators, temporary substation, UPS systems, HVAC, and compressed air.

Our team will help you audit your infrastructure, prioritize high-risk assets, and pre-position equipment so you can respond quickly and cost-effectively when disaster strikes. Plus, our national fleet and expert planners mean we’re ready to mobilize fast.

03

Without a clear contingency plan, you might experience longer recovery times, increased downtime penalties, and higher restoration costs in the event of an outage.

For utilities, especially those with aging infrastructure or over-capacity assets, having a proactive energy continuity strategy helps reduce customer minutes of interruption (CMIs), maintain grid resilience, and accelerate Estimated Time to Restoration (ETR).

04

Through our Greener Upgrades initiative, we help utilities minimize the environmental impact of temporary energy use.

Our solutions include biofuel-powered generators, load-on-demand systems, and strategies drawn up by experts to optimize equipment transport and minimize the number of trucks on the road.

We also offer hybrid solutions that combine batteries, solar, and generators to reduce fuel consumption, so you can recover while staying aligned with your ESG goals and regulatory targets.

05

Planned contingency support involves preparing for scheduled upgrades or known risks - like aging transformers or load-balancing needs. In these situations, equipment can be pre-staged and prepared for implementation.

Unplanned contingency support, on the other hand, responds to emergencies such as storms or sudden equipment failure. In these situations, your contingency partner will have worked with you before the emergency to plan when, where, and how they should prioritize recovery in the event of an emergency.

At Aggreko, we help you prepare for both by combining long-term contingency strategies with on-demand emergency services.

Assortment of Aggreko's power generation, hvac, electrical distribution and energy storage equipment
Reliable energy for critical utility needs

Aggreko partners with utilities to deliver flexible power generation and distribution solutions that keep communities connected. Whether it’s bridging power during infrastructure upgrades, supporting grid stability through peak demand, or providing rapid response during outages, our scalable solutions ensure reliability and resilience from planned upgrades to unexpected events.

Contact Our Power Specialists 1833.827.4123