Continuity when the grid fails

Grid power fails. The causes range from network faults and severe weather events to planned maintenance outages and infrastructure overloads beyond any operator's control. For facilities where an unplanned loss of power means lost production, compromised safety systems, damaged goods in temperature-controlled storage, or genuine risk to life, the grid is not a sufficient sole source of electricity. Apex Current Solutions designs and installs standby and backup generation systems that restore supply within seconds of a grid disruption, ensuring that critical operations continue without interruption and that the people and assets within your facility remain protected regardless of what the network does.

Generator installation at commercial and industrial scale is a complex electrical engineering exercise, not simply a matter of connecting a large engine to a switchboard. Fuel type and storage, load analysis and sizing, automatic transfer switch specification, earthing system transition, harmonic and power quality management, and interaction with existing protective devices all demand engineering competence and a thorough understanding of AS/NZS 3000:2018 Wiring Rules, the relevant emergency power supply standards, and the grid connection requirements of your network service provider. Apex Current Solutions brings that engineering depth to every project, ensuring the installed system is safe, code-compliant, and capable of performing its function under the worst conditions your facility is likely to face.

Load Analysis, Sizing, and Fuel Selection

An undersized generator is no protection at all, and an oversized unit wastes capital and runs inefficiently at light load, accumulating internal lacquer and wet-stacking damage. Correct sizing begins with a disciplined load analysis that identifies every load the generator is expected to carry, distinguishes between motor starting currents and steady-state running loads, and accounts for the sequence in which loads will be energised at restoration. Where critical loads must be prioritised over non-essential plant, the transfer scheme is designed to shed non-essential circuits automatically, keeping the generator within its rated capacity and ensuring critical systems receive supply first.

Fuel selection between diesel, natural gas, and LPG involves trade-offs between energy density, storage safety, supply infrastructure, and emissions profile. Diesel remains the dominant choice for large commercial standby applications because of its high energy density, long-term storability, and the maturity of the engine technology. For facilities with reticulated natural gas supply, gas generators eliminate on-site fuel storage requirements and simplify compliance with dangerous-goods regulations. Our engineers present a comparative analysis of fuel options for every project, accounting for your specific site constraints and the likely duration and frequency of grid disruptions in your network zone.

• Detailed load analysis distinguishing motor starting currents, continuous running loads, and priority loads to establish correct generator kVA rating with appropriate safety margin
• Automatic Transfer Switch specification and installation ensuring sub-ten-second restoration of supply to protected circuits upon grid failure detection
• Diesel, natural gas, and LPG fuel system design including tank sizing, secondary containment, refuelling provisions, and compliance with AS 1940 and dangerous-goods requirements
• Earthing system design for generator operation in accordance with AS/NZS 3000 to maintain protective earth continuity and fault protection across all transfer modes
• Full commissioning including load testing, transfer switch timing verification, protection relay coordination, and Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work on completion

Automatic Transfer Switches and UPS Integration

The automatic transfer switch is the critical interface between the grid and the generator. It monitors incoming supply voltage and frequency, detects an out-of-tolerance condition or total loss of supply, signals the generator to start, and transfers the protected load to generator supply once the engine has reached stable operating conditions. The transfer time is the defining parameter for load criticality: most commercial standby applications tolerate a transfer in under ten seconds, but data centres, operating theatres, and emergency egress systems require bridging via uninterruptible power supply to cover the generator run-up period without interruption.

Where load criticality demands zero interruption, Apex Current Solutions integrates UPS systems upstream of the automatic transfer switch, ensuring that sensitive loads, including computing infrastructure, medical equipment, and fire and life-safety systems, remain energised continuously while the generator reaches synchronisation speed. The combination of UPS and standby generation provides layered continuity protection: the UPS handles the immediate gap and short-duration events, while the generator sustains supply through extended grid outages. We engineer the interaction between these systems to ensure stable voltage and frequency across the transition, protecting equipment from the power quality disturbances that a poorly engineered transfer can introduce.

Commissioning, Compliance, and Ongoing Maintenance

A generator installation is not commissioned until it has been load tested under conditions representative of what it will face in service. Apex Current Solutions conducts full-load commissioning runs, verifies transfer switch timing under simulated grid loss, confirms protection relay coordination, checks fuel consumption against rated figures, and documents every test result in a commissioning report that forms the permanent foundation of the maintenance record. All electrical work is certified with a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work, and where your network service provider or authority having jurisdiction requires notification or inspection, we manage that process on your behalf. Ongoing maintenance contracts ensure the generator is exercised under load at regular intervals, fuel quality is maintained, and every mechanical and electrical component is serviced within manufacturer requirements, so that when the grid fails, your backup system starts in the first few seconds and runs for as long as your business needs it. Contact Apex Current Solutions to commission a critical load analysis and standby generation design for your facility.