Even though a power outage will bring your business to a grinding halt, there are a few steps that you can take to minimize how much those blackouts end up costing you. Here is a look at some simple tips that will help you protect your inventory when the power goes out.

Consider Using Snow

Snow might not be the best option for keeping your perishables cool, but it could work in an emergency. Filling up a few ice chests or refrigerators with snow might end up preserving thousands of dollars worth of inventory until you can figure out a long-term solution. During that time, you must keep a close eye on the temperatures inside your refrigerators, ice chests, and iceboxes. If those units rise above 40 degrees, then all of the perishables will need to be thrown out.

Close and Secure Refrigerator Doors

As soon as the power goes out in your grocery store, you must immediately close and secure all of the refrigerators and freezers. Just before you close those units, you might want to use a few bags of ice to cover all of the food. With secure doors and some ice, many of those appliances will remain cold for multiple hours. Opening the doors a handful of times could let all of the cool air out and thaw your perishables within a matter of minutes.

Rent Refrigerated Shipping Vehicles

Renting a few refrigerated trucks is another great tactic that could help you preserve quite a bit of your food. This strategy will require a contract or deposit, but it might end up saving you an extraordinary amount of money in the long run. Those trucks can keep their cargo areas extremely cold for long periods of time, and that will prevent all of the food from spoiling.

Contact an Emergency Repair Contractor

Following a blackout, many of the refrigerators and freezers inside your store could malfunction, and you will need to hire a local technician who specializes in refrigerator, freezer, and ice machine repair services. One of those contractors can test all of the appliances throughout your store and carry out some maintenance as soon as the power comes back on.
If power outages continue to be an ongoing problem in your area, then you might want to invest in a generator for your business as well. A high-quality generator is going to power all of your company’s appliances during a blackout, and that piece of machinery could pay for itself after one or two uses.