The Next Blackout Could Put Small Businesses In The Red

According to a recent survey commissioned by Emerson Network Power, most small businesses experienced a power outage in 2007 — and two out of three small-business owners anticipate experiencing more outages in the next 12 months. Surprisingly, most small-business owners are not prepared to manage power outages.

Of the small-business decision-makers that experienced at least one power outage in 2007, just 39 percent have back-up power supplies that can keep the lights on, the computers running, and employees working during power outages. And 42 percent of small companies had to close their doors in 2007 during their longest outages.

Additional top line results include:

• More than one in four, 29 percent, of small-business owners experienced three or more outages last year.
• Respondents ranked power outages ahead of fire, government regulation, weather damage, theft, and employee turnover as potential business threats.
• Sixty-one percent of small businesses do not have back-up power supplies.

Click here to see more survey results.

Learn about the survey methodology.