Last Updated on July 24, 2026
If you run a business, you need a reliable source of power. You cannot be at the mercy of the utility company when the power fails, the lights go out and operating systems go silent while you wait for service to be restored. It’s essential to have an emergency power supply plan in place.
An emergency power plan helps keep your business running and your crews working. A plan tailored to your operation — regardless of size or industry — helps you respond quickly to outages, reduce downtime, protect equipment and maintain critical operations when unexpected power disruptions occur.
But where do you start? How do you prepare for unpredictable power outages? And how do you customize a plan for different types of facilities, such as small businesses and residential complexes? What specific needs do large facilities like hospitals, data centers and massive jobsites have?
To create the best plans, you’ll need support from equipment professionals. They can help you craft a plan that ensures productivity and safety won’t be jeopardized following an outage. Read on to learn how to identify the right partners and create an emergency power plan that works for your facility.
What Is an Emergency Power Plan?
An emergency power plan is a set of protocols designed to keep critical operations running during a power outage. Every facility needs one, as even brief interruptions can create safety risks and costly disruptions.
Why Every Facility Needs an Emergency Power Plan
Without a plan, an outage can halt operations, disrupt communications, disable HVAC and security systems, damage equipment, and lead to data loss or spoiled inventory. For facilities such as hospitals, manufacturers, warehouses and data centers, the impact can be especially severe.
A well-designed backup power plan helps protect people and operations while minimizing financial losses. With a growing strain on power infrastructure and more frequent severe weather, proactive planning is more important than ever.
For example, permanent backup systems may not always provide sufficient capacity or runtime, which means you may need to rent a temporary generator. Temporary generators can quickly restore or expand power when existing systems are insufficient or offline.
Creating an effective emergency power supply plan with the help of a trusted equipment rental provider will help you handle both short-term outages and extended disruptions with ease.
Key Steps to Creating an Effective Emergency Power Plan
Building an emergency power plan is a complicated, highly technical task. You’ll need support from experienced partners, such as a reliable equipment rental provider. They can make sure the plan will work for your specific facility. Experts can help you assess power needs, choose equipment and streamline coordination when the unexpected happens.
While every building has unique emergency power needs, you can create an emergency power plan by following these seven steps.
1. Assess Your Power Needs
First, you need to understand which systems in your facility are essential, how much power they require and how long backup power may be necessary.
- Identify Mission-Critical Systems: Determine which systems and equipment are essential to maintaining safety and continuity of operations. These may include HVAC, security and fire protection systems, servers and data centers, communications equipment, refrigeration, medical devices, or specialized industrial machines. Depending on the facility, some businesses may only require backup power for critical areas, while others may need near-total facility coverage.
- Determine Peak Load Requirements: Peak load is the maximum amount of electrical power a facility requires at any one time. Reviewing utility bills, equipment nameplates and electrical distribution panels can help estimate demand. Working with a qualified power professional can help fine-tune calculations and ensure all critical loads are accounted for.
- Address the Question, “What Size Generator for Emergency Power Is Needed?”: Once you know how much power your facility needs, you can determine the appropriate size of the generator. Be sure to account for both continuous operating loads and surge loads created during startup. Oversizing can increase fuel costs and inefficiency, while undersizing may overload the system and risk equipment failure.
- Other Considerations: Also consider wattage requirements, fuel type, expected runtime and future scalability when choosing backup power generators. For example, if you’re preparing a business for hurricane season, you know you may lose power for several days at a time. Diesel generators are often preferred for reliability and long runtimes, while permanent natural gas generators can utilize existing gas lines.
2. Choose the Right Emergency Power Equipment for Each Situation
Once you know how much power it takes to keep mission-critical systems operating safely and maintain normal operations, the next step is selecting the right equipment for the situation.
Not every emergency requires the same backup power solution. Plan for both short outages and long-duration emergencies. This preparedness is especially important in regions prone to severe storms, utility disruptions and extreme weather events.
Standby Generators vs. Portable Generators vs. Temporary Power Systems:
- Standby generators are permanently installed systems. They automatically activate during an outage, making them ideal for hospitals, data centers and residential complexes that require continuous power.
- Portable generators are smaller mobile units designed to provide temporary power for essential equipment or limited areas during shorter outages. They are practical for smaller businesses, construction sites and remote operations. Portable power is also useful for facilities that need flexible backup power for tools, lighting, refrigeration, communications equipment or other critical systems. Portable emergency power generators can also provide supplemental power during planned maintenance or localized outages.
- Temporary power systems often involve rental generators and supporting equipment that can be scaled to meet larger or more complex power demands.
Types of Portable Generators and When to Use Them:
- Towable Generators: Ideal for industrial, construction, disaster relief, oil fields and military use.
- Skid-Mounted Generators: Ideal for construction sites and mid- to long-term operations.
- Small Portable Generators: Ideal for powering office or residential appliances such as refrigerators and HVAC.
3. Decide Whether to Rent or Buy Emergency Power Equipment
Once you understand your facility’s power needs and logistics, the next step is determining whether it makes more sense to buy an emergency power generator, rent it or use a combination of both. Each option has advantages depending on how often backup power is needed, the size of the facility and the level of flexibility required.
- When to Buy: Purchasing is usually only best for facilities that require continuous, always-on backup power and will use the generator regularly throughout the year. While ownership provides long-term access, it comes with a heftier initial investment, ongoing maintenance and the risk of underutilization.
- When to Choose an Emergency Power Generator Rental: Renting an emergency power generator offers flexibility and scalability, making it a strong option for short-term needs, unexpected outages, seasonal spikes or planned maintenance. Rental solutions allow facilities to quickly access the right size and type of generator without a large capital investment. Additionally, equipment can be adjusted as needs change. Rentals can also be an option for storm-prone regions, where outages may last anywhere from a few hours to several days.
How to Choose an Equipment Provider:
Before you rent equipment, choose a partner carefully. A strong rental partner can also help you scale quickly during emergencies, provide expert guidance and swap equipment if power needs change. They also can provide a replacement generator if maintenance is required.
Look for an equipment rental provider who has:
- A proven record of helping customers determine the right generator for the application.
- Technicians who are trained and capable of installing equipment across a wide range of job sites and facility types.
- A fleet of newer, well-maintained generators that are inspected and serviced between jobs to ensure reliability.
4. Consider Fueling, Logistics and Safety
An effective emergency power supply plan includes more than a list of equipment and a rental partner. It also provides clear protocols for fueling, logistics and safety to ensure the system operates reliably during an outage.
- Fuel Storage and Resupply: Plan for adequate fuel storage to support expected runtimes, including enough fuel for routine generator testing. For longer outages, a resupply plan is essential since fuel access may be delayed or limited during emergencies.
- Noise, Ventilation and Emissions Safety: Generators must be placed where ventilation and airflow are sufficient for safe operation and exhaust can be properly managed. Noise levels and emission requirements should also be considered, especially in populated areas.
- Placement and Cabling Plans: Pre-planned placement ensures generators are positioned properly, away from building air intakes, sensitive equipment and pedestrian traffic. Cabling and connection plans reduce setup time and help avoid unsafe or improvised electrical hookups during an emergency.
- Safe Operation, Testing and Maintenance: Regular testing is critical to confirm equipment will work when it is needed. This includes load testing, inspections and scheduled maintenance. Ask your equipment provider for safety training or support with these tasks.
5. Don’t Forget Testing and Maintenance
Emergency power equipment must be tested and maintained regularly to ensure it performs when needed. Generators should be tested on a scheduled basis using a load bank. Load banks simulate real operating conditions to confirm they can safely handle required electrical loads.
Load bank testing helps uncover issues such as performance problems, fuel delivery concerns or electrical faults before an actual outage occurs. It also confirms the system can support mission-critical operations without interruption.
Routine maintenance is also essential and should include inspections, fluid and battery checks and verification that all components are functioning properly. Facilities should also ensure adequate fuel is available for testing and emergency use, along with a clear, safe process for conducting tests.
6. Secure Agreements and Put the Plan in Writing
Now that you have considered all key factors, it is time to formalize and implement your emergency power plan. Put everything into writing so roles, responsibilities and response steps are clear before an outage occurs.
A written plan is easier to share, follow and update when conditions change.
If you are working with an emergency power equipment provider, establish agreements in advance, so equipment, delivery, installation and support can be activated quickly when needed. Planning ahead helps reduce delays and confusion during an actual emergency.
7. Communicate Your Plan and Keep It Updated
Finally, an emergency power plan is only effective if it is regularly updated and clearly communicated to everyone involved, including internal teams, facility managers and external equipment providers.
As operational priorities shift over time, your facility’s power needs will change. Regular reviews and communication updates ensure the plan stays current and viable. An effective emergency power plan should be treated as a living document, not a one-time task. Regular updates, testing and refinement help ensure the plan remains reliable and effective.
How to Keep Everyone Coordinated:
- Make sure your emergency power generator provider has up-to-date contact information for key facility personnel, including after-hours and 24/7 emergency numbers. They should know who to reach, how to reach them and who is authorized to make decisions during an emergency.
- Give your internal teams clear instructions for how and when to contact the equipment provider. Store contact lists both on-site and off-site for accessibility during an outage.
- Train employees on basic power-generation procedures before an outage occurs. This includes knowing how to check generator fuel levels, when to perform routine system checks or testing, and who to contact if equipment is not operating correctly. Assign roles and ensure responsibilities are clearly documented, distributed via email or an emergency alert system, and easily accessible in printed and digital formats.
- Notify everyone when plans are updated. A well-communicated plan ensures everyone is ready to act quickly and knows their job. By clearly defining responsibilities and maintaining strong communication between internal teams and external partners, facilities can respond more efficiently and maintain safe, reliable operation during unexpected power disruptions.
Be Prepared with an Emergency Power Plan Before You Need It
When you’re dealing with power generation in an emergency, every minute matters. Outages can happen without warning, making it essential to have an emergency power plan in place before the power fails and lights go out.
Partnering with Herc Rentals from the start can make your planning process easier and give you peace of mind. Our power generation experts can accurately determine your power supply needs, help you select the right equipment, and minimize the hassle of transportation and maintenance.
With Herc Rentals, you’ll rest easy knowing that emergency power will be set up and work properly when you need it most. Our flexible contracts and large fleet of generators mean you’ll have choices when handling short-term or long-term power outages.
Contact a power-generation specialist at Herc Rentals today to start building your emergency power supply plan and get guidance on power generation equipment tailored to your needs. Call us toll-free at 1-800-432-6215, or contact us online to get started.
