In an Alaska winter, the power going out is not a question of if. Wind, heavy snow on lines, ice and equipment failures all take their turn. Most offices handle the lights and heat with a plan. The computers, though, often get whatever happens when the power drops, and that can be the expensive part.
A little preparation now, before the worst of the season, turns an outage from a data problem into an inconvenience.
Why sudden power loss is hard on IT
When power cuts out without warning, computers stop mid-task. A server writing to its database, a PC saving a file, or a backup halfway through can be left with damaged data. Most of the time everything comes back fine. Occasionally it does not, and the cleanup takes far longer than the outage.
The return of power is its own risk. Ready.gov’s power outage guidance (updated June 2026) warns that power may return with “momentary surges or spikes that can cause damage,” and advises turning off or disconnecting electronics during an outage. Flickering on and off during repairs is especially hard on equipment.
Battery backups: buy time for a clean shutdown
A battery backup, or UPS (uninterruptible power supply), sits between the wall and your equipment. When the power fails, it switches to battery instantly, so nothing notices. It also smooths out surges and dips while the power is on.
A UPS is not meant to run the office through a long outage. Its job is to carry you through short blips and, for longer outages, give critical equipment enough time to shut down properly. Some practical points:
- Protect what matters most: servers, the firewall and Internet equipment, network switches, and the phone system equipment. Desktops that save work to the cloud are lower priority; laptops have their own batteries.
- Connect the UPS to the server. Most business UPS units can signal a server to shut itself down cleanly when the battery runs low. If nobody has set this up, the server just loses power when the battery runs out, which defeats the purpose.
- Size it for the shutdown, not the storm. The battery needs enough runtime to finish a clean shutdown with some margin to spare. Your IT provider can calculate this from the equipment’s power draw.
- Replace batteries on schedule. UPS batteries wear out with age. A UPS with a dead battery is just an expensive power strip. Run the built-in self-test and follow the manufacturer’s replacement schedule.
Generators: useful, with care
Many Alaska businesses have a generator, especially outside Anchorage. A generator plus a UPS is a strong combination: the UPS covers the seconds before the generator starts and smooths the generator’s power, which can be less steady than utility power.
Two cautions. First, safety comes before computers. Ready.gov says generators and fuel should always be used outdoors and at least 20 feet from windows, doors and attached garages, because of the carbon monoxide risk. A permanently installed generator with a proper transfer switch, installed by an electrician, is the right approach for a business. Second, test your UPS on generator power before you need it. Some UPS units are fussy about generator power and may keep running on battery instead.
When the power goes out
Write a one-page plan and post it where staff will find it in the dark. It should say:
- Save and close. Staff save their work and shut down desktops if the outage looks like it will last.
- Who shuts down the server if the automatic shutdown is not in place, and how.
- Unplug or switch off equipment that is not on a UPS, to protect it from surges when power returns.
- Who to call. Your IT provider’s number, written down, not stored only on the computers that are now off.
When the power comes back
Wait for the power to settle before turning everything on. If the utility is still working on the lines, it may flicker several times. Then bring things up in order:
- Internet equipment and the firewall
- Network switches and Wi-Fi
- Servers and storage
- Phones, printers and desktops
Starting in this order means each device finds the network and the services it needs when it starts. Then check that the server’s applications opened correctly and that last night’s backup completed.
Cold is its own problem
A long outage in winter means cold buildings. Electronics that have been sitting in a cold room, or were carried in from a vehicle, can collect condensation when they warm up. Give cold equipment time to reach room temperature before turning it on. And if the building has been without heat for days, check the server room before powering up. Our article on equipment room temperature covers the other side of the problem: equipment rooms that run too hot.
The cloud helps, but not completely
Email and files in Microsoft 365 stay available during a local outage, so staff with a charged laptop and a phone hotspot, or at home with power, can keep working. That is a strong argument for moving files and email off the office server. But your office network, phones and any on-site server still depend on local power.
How FTI helps
Our managed IT service, built on Kaseya, watches the servers and network equipment we manage around the clock. When a site goes dark or a UPS switches to battery, our monitoring sees it and our AI-assisted operations put it in front of our engineers with the full picture, so we know which offices are affected before the calls start. We set up automatic shutdowns, test UPS batteries, and after the power returns we check that systems and backups came back cleanly. Our 24/7 help desk is there when the storm hits after hours.
