Information for Consumers: Generator Hire
Business Continuity
As part of your business continuity planning, you should include plans for all those 'what if' scenarios to keep your business humming when things go wrong. One scenario is what to do when the power goes out. Here, we provide some ideas for you to consider in your plan.
Temporary Generation
Where possible, we'll provide a temporary generator during a planned power outage to:
- Schools (including holiday programmes)
- Early childcare
- Healthcare (including hospices, medical centres and emergency services)
- Elderly care facilities
- Veterinary clinics
If your business is not on the list above and needs guaranteed continuous electricity supply, we recommend you arrange for temporary power generation to keep your business running in the event of an outage.
A range of generator options are available including uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to keep internet, phones and EFTPOS running, and standby petrol or diesel generators. We are happy to provide advice on generator options.
You can hire long or short-term generators from various Hawke’s Bay providers including:
- CHB Hire Centre
- Hirepool
- Kennards
- Generator Rental Services
We recommend you get in touch with them ahead of time to see if they can help you.
If you have arranged to use a temporary generator during a planned outage, please give us a call on 0800 NO POWER (0800 667 663) to let us know. This will help us to keep our team safe while they are working.
Medically Dependant:
If you, or a member of your household, are medically dependent on electricity for your health, you need to register with your retailer (who you pay your electricity bill to). This means they'll have your contact details and can let you know about scheduled outages so you can plan for them. Even if you are medically dependent, we can't guarantee a constant supply of electricity, so it's important you have a plan in place for if the power goes out.
Make a plan
- Ensure you have registered yourself as medically dependent with your electricity retailer
- Talk to your GP about providing you any information your retailer needs to confirm your status
- Talk to your health practitioner about what an emergency plan looks like for you, and make sure you put it in place
- If you have medication that must be kept cool, consider investing in a backup generator that could power your fridge. Or place it in a chiller bag and transfer it to an unaffected family member/friend’s fridge
What to do in an outage
- It’s time to put your emergency response plan in place
- Switch on your generator if you have one
- If you don’t have a generator, place your medication in a chiller bag and transfer it to an unaffected family member/friend’s fridge
- Let your electricity retailer know immediately
- If there is an immediate health threat, contact your healthcare professional or go to the local hospital. In an emergency, always call 111
The Electricity Authority provides guidelines and advice on what how to register as medically dependent, and the type of experience you can expect from your electricity retailer. Find out more here.
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