Background

A popular Italian-food retail store + group kitchen for other outlets, had suffered several power supply failures resulting in massive loss of stock, and multiple inconvenient clean-ups for staff.  Following a review, they determined that a reliable emergency power system with integration into their existing site constraints would better support their risk-management processes moving forward.

Problem

• Electricity grid power outages continued to plague this retail store and group kitchen – with no existing ability to navigate outages
• A legacy generator & power transfer system were not effective in maintaining the site’s operations during power failures
• Being an active site, there were tight spatial limitations & high foot traffic to navigate, if an upgrade or replacement was to be initiated

Solution

• The PGS team initiated discussions with key staff to evaluate their specific needs & problems, and the deficiencies encountered with their existing legacy system
• A thorough site inspection was undertaken to assess site electrical loads, and identify the modifications required for the power transfer system
• Given the site’s tight spatial requirements and high traffic, PGS worked with the client’s structural team to modify an existing raised structure to handle the weight of a new 150kVA low noise generating set
• The PGS team was also engaged for further mechanical design for extra vibration mounts to ensure the minimum amount of noise & vibration would be transmitted to the premises
• With the high-level installation platform, PGS made further generator modifications to suit the limited space and the structural team installed some innovative access systems to allow generator access for maintenance
• To avoid site traffic, an early morning crane installation took place to remove the existing generator and install the new unit. PGS managed modifications to the site’s electrical infrastructure outside of the businesses normal operating hours, and in stages, to permit the refrigeration plant to be energised several times during the works to ensure stock in cool rooms was kept at acceptable temperatures

Outcome

• Business continuity – no loss or impact on the inventory or produce, which facilitated ongoing operations and continued cash-flow throughout the generator upgrade process
• The site now has a fully automated emergency power system to protect it during grid power supply issues, to better support their ongoing commitment to food quality & safety
• The client is now looking to further optimise the system use in a ‘demand response mode’ allowing the site’s power supply to switch over to the generator in times of high network pricing events
• Remote access & messaging systems now also allow leadership staff to stay current on energy supply to the site