Saving Shoppers
A brand new, ground breaking supermarket in Cambridgeshire that had been in the works since 2014 almost fell at the starting gate.
The Challenge
A delay in the installation of mains power by the Distribution Network Operator meant that the huge launch planned for the opening day was all of a sudden in danger of being held in the dark.
With no mains power, the major construction firm that built the 25,000 sq ft building and 4,000 sq ft petrol station next door called on Power Electrics to provide a solution.
The Solution
Power Electrics supplied 1.5mVA of temporary generator power in the form of 3x 500kVA synchronising generators for a period of around 20 weeks. The sets were on a power management configuration to ensure reliability – in that should one go down the load would be covered by the remaining two – and redundancy – in that when the need to service one of the generators arises the other two could still be run to maintain the load and eliminate downtime.
“The generators were also accompanied by a 20,000 litre fuel tank. This may seem excessive but the client’s needs specified a minimal disruption to daily business and with a consistent stream of deliveries arriving at the supermarket a decision was made to minimise the trips needed to refuel the generators."
Electricity is sometimes a commodity that is overlooked or taken for granted. Without the generators supplied by Power Electrics the store simply could not have opened, risking any consumer trust that had been built up within the community as well as denting the pay checks of the 260 people who have acquired employment at the store. The store has been lauded for its plan to sell a record breaking number of locally sourced products, designed to help boost the local economy. Luckily, with assistance from Power Electrics, the launch of this supermarket avoided being mired in criticism.
"Utilising the Power Management set-up also helped minimise the client’s consumption of fuel by around 5000ltrs a week, ultimately saving a considerable amount of money over the 20 week hire period."
