Atlantic Canada gets winter storms that knock out power for hours or, occasionally, days. For a business, that can mean lost inventory, halted operations, or a safety issue if emergency systems do not perform the way they are supposed to. A short checklist before the storm arrives beats improvising during it.
Before the storm
- Test your standby generator, if you have one, under load rather than assuming the last automatic exercise cycle proves it works. Confirm the automatic transfer switch is functioning and check fuel levels or supply.
- Confirm emergency lighting and exit signs are working. These are required to function during a power failure, and a storm is exactly when you find out if they do not.
- Check that your electrical panel and service entrance are accessible. Snow and ice buildup around a meter, panel or generator enclosure can delay a technician's ability to reach it during a call.
- Walk the exterior for exposed wiring, damaged conduit, or trees and branches near overhead lines that could come down under ice or wind load.
- Confirm you know your utility's outage reporting number and your electrical contractor's emergency contact, and that this information is somewhere staff can find it without power or internet.
- Back up critical data if your business relies on computer systems, in case a power interruption affects equipment despite backup power.
During the storm
If you lose power, resist the urge to keep resetting breakers that trip repeatedly. A breaker that will not stay on is telling you something, and a storm with wind-driven debris or ice loading is exactly the environment where a real fault can develop. If your standby generator has not started as expected, do not attempt to troubleshoot it yourself unless staff are trained and authorized to do so.
Keep an eye on:
- Whether backup systems, if you have them, are actually carrying the loads you expected.
- Refrigeration and temperature-sensitive inventory, since a storm outage can run longer than a typical outage.
- Any signs of water intrusion near electrical equipment from wind-driven rain or snow melt.
After the storm
Once power is restored, or once the storm passes, walk the property before assuming everything is back to normal:
- Confirm all critical systems restarted correctly, including emergency lighting, alarm systems and refrigeration.
- Check for any exterior damage to your service entrance, meter base, or overhead connections that might not have been visible during the storm.
- If breakers tripped repeatedly during the outage or restoration, have those circuits checked before returning to normal operation.
- Log what happened, since a pattern of storm-related problems is worth addressing with permanent fixes rather than repeated emergency calls each winter.
Planning ahead for next winter
If this storm exposed a gap, whether that is a generator that could not carry the load, emergency lighting that failed, or a service entrance vulnerable to ice and wind, address it while it is fresh rather than waiting for the next storm to remind you. A design-build review of your building's electrical resilience can catch problems before they become emergency calls.
Communicating with staff and customers
Part of storm preparation is deciding, ahead of time, how you will communicate if the power goes out and phone or internet service is also affected. A printed list of emergency contacts, posted where staff can find it without power, is more reliable than a document saved only on a server that is now offline. If your business serves customers on site, decide in advance what conditions mean you close rather than trying to operate on backup systems that were never meant to run the full building, and make sure whoever is on site that day knows the decision has already been made rather than having to judge it alone in the moment.
Talk to Puffin Power
Puffin Power provides emergency electrical service across the region and can help your business prepare its electrical systems ahead of winter. Call (709) 769-9713 or reach out through /contact.html.
Published 2026-09-23 · About 3 minute read