TAYLOR, MI-It was all because of a few tree limbs and a simple software glitch. An alarm system bug in the control room of an Ohio energy company helped to transform what should have been a small-scale local outage into a cascade of system failures that led to the great Northeast Blackout of 2003. In all, approximately 55 million people were impacted across North America, including widespread outages in eight US states.

Today, 10 years after that blackout and almost a year removed from the catastrophic effects of Superstorm Sandy, which blasted the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to the tune of $68 billion in estimated damages—many real estate professionals have learned the hard way just how damaging power interruptions can be to businesses and properties.

But here is the hidden truth about blackouts: the historic events are only one piece of the puzzle. Consider the fact that, while Hurricane Sandy left more than 8.5 million people in the dark, all told almost five times that number were affected by outages last year. Local and regional outages are commonplace, and they do not have to make headlines to make a dramatic impact: power interruptions cause millions of dollars of annual damage in property and infrastructure damage, and lost business and productivity.

In light of this, it is alarming how few real estate professionals are truly prepared for an outage. While awareness is growing about the importance of emergency planning, the vast majority of planning is inadequate or incomplete. But thoughtful planning pays off: whether a blackout lasts a few seconds or several days, a relatively modest amount of planning and preparation can literally be a million-dollar difference maker.From medical facilities to retail outlets, and from restaurants to financial institutions, protecting people, properties and businesses against the damage and disruption of an outage is one of the best investments that real estate professionals can make. When a strategic plan is designed and implemented effectively, it is possible to keep operations up and running even in the worst emergencies and natural disasters.

Perspective

The first step is to appreciate the threat and understand the scale and scope of the potential damages that can result when power is interrupted. Those who do not live and work in vulnerable coastal areas may underestimate the potential threat from power outages.

Preparation

Emergency generators are the first essential step in preparing for a potential blackout. Unfortunately, for many properties, it is also the only step. Remember that a generator does not constitute an emergency power plan: it is the prerequisite for a plan. Some facilities do not even go that far: while some businesses and buildings are required by law to have a generator backup system in place, many of those who are not required to do so fail to take this basic preparatory step. When installing your generators, remember to locate them in a stable area (the basement is a bad idea, as many buildings in New York City discovered when Sandy's floodwaters came pouring in) and remember to perform rigorous and regular maintenance checks.

Platform

Because most generators take time to come online, many generator systems will need an uninterrupted power supply (UPS)—a device that provides instantaneous emergency power to bridge the gap between a blackout and generator startup. That gap might be a few minutes, a few seconds, or even a few fractions of a second, but it can be costly nonetheless. Hi-tech and information-dependent buildings and businesses need to be especially conscientious in this regard. The cost and functionality of UPS solutions varies, so consider working with a vendor or trained professional who is familiar with the power and professional needs of your business or property.

Planning

When fuel supplies are diminished or disrupted, the truth about generators is driven home: they are only as good as their fuel supply. So what happens when all the gas stations in your area are out of power too? The key is to secure your supply ahead of time through an assurance program with a provider who has a diversified enough supply that they don't rely on one refinery, or geographical area for their reserves.

Possibilities

When designing your emergency response plan for a power outage, try to think outside the box: remember that generators are not the only systems that will need fuel in an emergency. Transportation is one of the most commonly overlooked (and most important) elements. Your emergency planning should include sufficient fuel and resources to operate essential vehicles and potentially transport employees to and from work. This is obviously particularly important for hospitals and emergency services providers.

Publicize

While literally and figuratively keeping the lights on is obviously the top priority during a power interruption, emergency communications are an essential and oft-overlooked component of any business continuity and crisis management program. Both for informational and operational reasons, communicating with employees, tenants, customers and patients is essential during an outage. Established lines of communication through social media networks like Twitter or Facebook are a good option for conveying information to the general public, and emergency notification services are also an increasingly popular choice for many real estate professionals, as their ability to transmit bulk messages via phone or email can be an effective and efficient way for property managers to get in touch with tenants, companies to get in touch with employees, etc.

Procedures

Avoid the clichéd tendency for even the best-laid plans to go astray by observing the two essential follow-up steps to any effective emergency plan: testing and training. The chaos of a power outage is not when you want to discover that personnel do not know how to respond, or that the generator has not been maintained. Conduct regular training and periodic testing of all emergency equipment and procedures, and do not be afraid to make changes to your plan as your property, personnel or company evolves over time. For example, determining who and what is in need of UPS coverage is something that should be reviewed periodically, both to avoid unnecessary expense and unwanted exposure.

Since the early 1990s, large-scale outages have been trending up. At the same time, properties and businesses are more dependent than ever before on an increasingly complex network of digital communications and hi-tech infrastructure. For real estate professionals and property owners, those converging trends are a reminder that power outages are much more than an inconvenience: they can often be professionally disabling and financially crippling. Putting a plan in place that follows the basic guidelines outlined above is an important safeguard against the worst of those impacts.

Bob Kenyon is EVP of Atlas Oil. The views expressed in this column are the author's own.