Caterpillar Lightens Blackout Woes

In the hours immediately following the initial darkness of last week’s far-reaching power outage, Caterpillar Inc. and its independently owned dealers came to the rescue – at least for some homes and businesses.

The manufacturer of green industry products provided more than 400 megawatts of back-up and primary power to businesses, residential areas and utility companies impacted by the massive power outages in the northeastern United States and Canada. Caterpillar is the largest supplier of clean diesel units in the northeast – including the financial centers of New York and major airports.

“These unexpected power shortages underscore how completely our economy and personal lives depend on the reliable transmission of electricity,” asserts James Parker, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the company’s power systems marketing division. “Our dealers responded immediately with power modules to support large utilities, businesses and residential areas.”

The power outages also highlight the irreplaceable value of back-up power generators in critical operations like hospitals, air traffic control centers and computer data centers, Parker observes.

“Skyrocketing demand on power grids across North America is causing greater strains on the interconnected grid system and highlighting the need to ease bottlenecks that can cause major power outages – especially during summer and winter months,” Parker notes. “Larger users of power, including utilities and industrial companies, can minimize their vulnerability to power outages by using distributed generation – relatively small power plants located adjacent to their premises. This is one of Caterpillar’s core businesses.”

The recent blackout is a clear indication of the irreplaceable value of back-up power generators in critical functions like hospitals, air traffic control centers and computer data centers.

Caterpillar, a leader in distributed power generation products, is recognized as the third largest supplier of electric power generation in the world. The company played a critical role in providing distributed generation to California and the entire west coast during the summer 2001 energy crisis. In the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Caterpillar again provided the majority of power generation and dealer support to rescue efforts, as well as bringing the city’s financial district back on line.

The author is Assistant Editor-Internet of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.