21st May 2025
In today’s digital economy, data centres are the backbone of virtually every industry — from financial services and healthcare to retail and media. But as demand increases and our reliance on these hubs intensifies, the risk posed by power outages becomes ever more significant.
According to the Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey 2024, more than half (53%) of data centre operators experienced an outage in the past three years. Alarmingly, 24% of those incidents were reported as having a significant, serious or severe impact. These are not minor glitches — they’re disruptions that can cost millions, damage reputations, and erode customer trust.
Power: The Primary Culprit
Of these outages, 54% were linked to power-related issues. That’s more than half of all failures. Delving deeper, 28% of power failures were traced back to problems with backup generators or their fuel supply. With the power grid under increasing strain, due largely to ageing infrastructure and the growing use of intermittent renewable energy, this trend shows no sign of reversing.
The Race Against Time: Why Generators Matter More Than Ever
Modern data centres are equipped with UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems, but with increased demand, these typically provide no more than five minutes of emergency power. This brief window is designed to allow backup generators to start up and take over. But if those generators fail — or are running on contaminated fuel — that window slams shut very quickly.
Fuel Contamination: The Hidden Threat
One of the lesser-known but serious risks to generator reliability is contaminated diesel fuel. Over time, diesel can degrade, especially when stored for long periods, becoming a breeding ground for water, microbial growth, and sludge. When this contaminated fuel is drawn into a generator during a power cut, the consequences can be catastrophic — ranging from reduced performance to complete failure.
Fuel Polishing: The Smart, Preventative Solution
This is where fuel polishing proves its worth. Fuel polishing is a process that removes water, sediment, microbial contamination, and sludge from stored diesel. By regularly filtering and cleaning the fuel, operators can ensure their generators are always ready to perform when it matters most.
As outages become more frequent and pressure on power systems mounts, investing in fuel polishing has become a necessity. For data centre operators, it provides a simple yet powerful layer of protection against a very real threat.
The Bottom Line
Power outages are a growing concern for data centres, with generator and fuel-related failures forming a significant part of the problem. With UPS systems offering limited buffer time, backup generators must perform flawlessly. Fuel polishing ensures that when the lights go out, your data centre doesn’t.
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