Developing a Business Continuity Plan for Power Outages: Strategies & Template

Power outages rarely come with a warning.  No matter the reason, the consequences of power loss can be immediate, costly, and often disruptive to your core business. Downtime for businesses isn’t just an inconvenience; it can be a risk to safety, reputation, and your bottom line. In 2022,  U.S. electricity customers averaged five and half hours of power interruptions.  In 2024, U.S. businesses lost an estimated $150 billion due to power outages. The good news? With the right preparation, you can minimize downtime and protect what matters most.

Business continuity planning for power outages is a strategic necessity and may be one of the smartest decisions your organization can make.

What a Business Continuity Plan Covers During a Power Outage

A microgrid is a self-contained energy system that can operate both independently (islanded) and in coordination with the macro grid. These systems are designed to power specific facilities and campuses and can even support military installations.

While your facility may have a backup generator for emergencies, microgrids can offer a far more advanced and reliable solution. Microgrids with energy storage can automatically detect grid outages and transition seamlessly to islanded mode without interrupting power to critical systems.

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) answers the question, how will your organization continue delivering key services during and after an unexpected disruption?  Whether the challenge is natural, technical, or manmade, having a well-developed BCP for power outages ensures that your business can maintain resilience, protect its people, and reduce financial losses.

One of the most frequent and damaging threats to continuity is loss of power. Power outages can trigger a cascade of operational, financial, and safety challenges.

Prioritizing energy resilience in an BCP allows facilities to:

• Protect People – Ensure customer, employee and stakeholder safety as the top priority.
• Keep operations running smoothly – Maintain production lines, service delivery, and revenue flow, even during widespread grid outages.
• Protect critical data and systems – Ensure IT infrastructure and digital operations remain secure and uninterrupted.
• Maintain a safe, stable environment for customers and employees – Keep lighting, HVAC, and emergency systems functioning to support workplace safety and comfort.
• Strengthen supply chain reliability – Minimize disruptions across your logistics network by staying operational when others can’t.
• Preserve customer trust and brand reputation – Demonstrate resilience and reliability by continuing to serve customers, no matter the circumstances.

By proactively addressing power continuity, you’re building a stronger, smarter, and more dependable business. An integrated energy strategy can give your business the ability to stay ahead of disruption instead of reacting to it.

Key Pillars of a Power Outage Business Continuity Plan

To achieve the above goals, a power outage BCP requires a strong and adaptable framework, not just a checklist. The basis of any power outage business continuity plan should be built on these six principles.

1. Risk & Impact Assessment

Like with any facet of a BCP, before you prepare, you need to understand what’s at stake.

• Quantify the cost of downtime: Estimate financial losses per hour if operations stop. Consider lost sales, production delays or compliance penalties.
• Identify vulnerable systems: Which areas are most at risk in a blackout? Think about refrigeration, IT networks, or specialized manufacturing equipment.
• Assess external risks: Consider weather patterns, utility reliability and grid vulnerabilities specific to your region.

2. Critical Systems Prioritization

Not every system may need to run during an outage. Prioritization ensures the most important functions stay powered.

• Must-run loads: Data centers, refrigeration, security systems, emergency lighting, production lines.
• Important but flexible: HVAC comfort systems, office computers, nonessential lighting.
• Load shedding plan: Decide which systems can be powered down first to preserve energy for core operations.

3. Backup Power Strategy

A strong power outage plan requires understanding the available backup resources and what your organization requires.

• A microgrid is a self-contained energy system that can operate both independently (islanded) and in coordination with the macro grid. Microgrids provide adaptable, flexible, and reliable forms of energy resilience. These systems are designed to power specific facilities and campuses and can even support military installations. Microgrid systems can integrate renewable energy sources, battery storage and monitoring to provide seamless energy resilience.

4. Communication Protocols

Even with power secured, clear communication determines how effectively your team responds.

• Internal communications: Establish SMS or radio-based alerts to reach employees if email and phones are down.
• External communications: Define how customers, suppliers, and regulators will be updated during an outage.
• Designated roles: Assign who sends updates, fields inquiries, and manages stakeholder communication.

5. Recovery Objectives (RTO & RPO)

Setting measurable recovery goals ensures your continuity plan is more than a theory.

• RTO (Recovery Time Objective): The maximum acceptable downtime for critical systems. 
• RPO (Recovery Point Objective): The maximum acceptable data loss. 
• Alignment with operations: These targets should be realistic based on your backup power and IT recovery capabilities.

6. Testing & Training

A plan is only effective if you know your team understands how to implement it.

• Drills: Conduct quarterly power outage simulations to test both energy systems and communication workflows.
• Training: Ensure staff understand their roles during an outage.
• Continuous improvement: Review results after each test and update your plan to address gaps.

Sample Power Outage Business Continuity Plan Template

Use this high-level outline as a starting point to draft or refine your own plan. While the tactical details of BCP should be far more specific as to the roles, responsibilities, and contact information of all involved employees, this example review can help highlight the requirements of the BCP framework.

• Objective: Maintain safe operations during grid outage and minimize downtime.
• Critical Loads: IT servers, refrigeration, security, production line equipment.
• Backup Strategy: Microgrid tailored to your needs.
• Communication Plan: Notify employees via SMS alert system. Post customer updates to website/social media within 30 minutes.
• RTO: Critical systems restored in <5 minutes; full facility within 2 hours.
• Responsible Team: Facilities manager, IT lead, operations director.
• Testing Frequency: Quarterly outage drill; annual microgrid performance review.

Why Microgrids Now Form the Backbone of Business Continuity Plans

While facilities may have a backup generator for emergencies, microgrids offer a far more advanced and reliable solution. A microgrid system can operate both independently (islanded) and in parallel with the macro grid. These systems are designed to power anything from hospitals, retail stores, warehouses, production facilities, campuses, and even military installations.

Here’s where microgrids improve on a traditional emergency generator backup:

Minimize Downtime

Microgrid controls can detect a loss of power and instantly switch to on-site power generation, keeping operations running without delay. This transition happens seamlessly, with no need for manual startup.

Protect Critical Operations

Facility owners can configure microgrids to prioritize essential functions. Systems such as refrigeration, security, communications and production equipment can continue running while non-essential loads are temporarily shed.

Maintain Safety and Communication

Lighting, HVAC, security systems and internal communications remain operational during outages, which helps protect employees and customers and ensures clear communication during a crisis- even for extended outages.

Maintain and Monitor the System

Routine maintenance, software updates, and performance reviews are critical. Platforms like PowerSecure PowerControl help ensure your system is tested, optimized, and ready before a disruption occurs.

Advance Sustainability Goals

Microgrids can integrate renewable energy sources and fuels, which help businesses maintain progress toward carbon reduction targets.

Reduce Long-Term Energy Costs

Microgrids can support participation in demand response programs and allow facilities to optimize energy use throughout the year. This turns an emergency asset into a cost-saving investment.

Start Building Your Energy Resilience Today

Now is the time to take a fresh look at your business continuity plan—with a sharp focus on energy resilience. As extreme weather, rising demand, and grid instability increase, so does the risk of costly downtime. But with the right strategy, that risk becomes an opportunity to lead.

A well-built microgrid gives your organization the power to stay operational, safeguard your people, and deliver uninterrupted service—no matter what challenges come your way.

Contact PowerSecure to learn about how a microgrid partner can support your business resilience goals today.