The client was a privately held grocery store chain with sales of more than $32B. They have more than 400 stores between Texas and Mexico and one hundred and forty-five thousand employees and millions of customers in more than 300 communities depend on them for grocery essentials and gasoline.
The grocery store chain was severely impacted by unexpected power outages that caused interruptions to their customers, as well as the loss of perishables. By the second hour of a power outage, spoilage becomes a certainty as products must be thrown out to maintain safety and quality. Refueling logistics during inclement weather created a problem trying to get diesel tankers to the stores and did not provide them with the security they needed. It was vital to have full electrical reliability and ensure they could remain open to provide critical service to the community during major and minor power outages.
Project Overview
Portfolio Size: 258 MW
Sites: 190
Project Description
The grocery chain was not only at risk of losing perishables at stores in a power outage, but their distribution centers and snack plants were also at risk – all of them needed to be protected. In 2016, the client partnered with Enchanted Rock to install dual-purpose microgrids at 45 of the locations using Enchanted Rock’s Resiliency-as-a-Service solution. Enchanted Rock’s dual-purpose microgrids run on natural gas, which has a robust reliable underground supply chain.
Since commissioning the first reliability system at the initial store in Winter 2016, the client has experienced sustained sales growth when other nearby stores are without power. Additionally, Enchanted Rock monitors grid power quality and islands the stores when problems are detected, saving them from equipment damage and product losses. The grocery chain’s portfolio of Enchanted Rock generators have performed at a high level of reliability, due to continuous monitoring of their performance in the MCC 24/7/365, and onsite visits.
Enchanted Rock has maintained an all-time 99.999% combined reliability for the client and uptime with 7,900 all-time outage hours covered across 190 sites, including not only stores, but distribution centers and snack plants.
