Power crisis takes toll on Mindanao firms

MANILA, Philippines - The power crisis in Mindanao has taken its toll on companies operating in the island with eight out of 10 firms unable to immediately resume operations when power failures strike, Schneider Electric Philippines said.

Citing a survey conducted by the Mindanao Development Authority, Schneider said Mindanao-based firms lose an average of P50,000 for every hour of power outage.

For Mindanao-based companies, this result in poor productivity, loss of income, low customer satisfaction and exorbitant costs resulting from critical data loss, Schneider said.

As such, the company urged companies to provide critical back-up power or uninterrupted power supply (UPS) for their respective IT infrastructure systems.

 â€œUPS is a must to ensure continuity of operations and prevent data loss,” said Schneider Electric (SE) Philippines Vice President for IT Jeff de Sousa.

A battery back-up allows the continued use of computer systems even with erratic electricity supply such as power black outs and voltage fluctuation.

The battery back-up unit instantly switches the computer and peripherals to battery power, avoiding any disruptions to delicate IT processes, Schneider said.

“We want to encourage companies to be prepared and to invest in quality back-up power products to prevent business disruptions which may result in significant financial losses,” De Sousa said.

Schneider Electric offers reliable end-to-end solution such as battery back-up to keep business operations running at all times even during power interruptions.

“APC by Schneider Electric carries a line-up of Back UPS that caters to the needs of all types and sizes of businesses,” De Sousa said.

As early as 2010, the Department of Energy has been warning that Mindanao would suffer four-hour rotating blackout this year due to insufficient energy supply and the situation is likely to last until 2015.

Besides Mindanao, companies in Luzon are likewise at risk of business slow down due to power outages, Schneider said.