Ben E. Keith isn’t taking chances with Texas’ power grid.
The food and beverage distributor recently selected Enchanted Rock, a provider of electrical “resiliency-as-a-service,” to fortify its Dallas, Texas, beverage distribution facility with a natural gas-powered, dual-purpose resiliency microgrid it says will ensure “uninterrupted business continuity during unplanned or planned grid outages.”
Houston-headquartered Enchanted Rock’s integrated Resiliency on Call (iROC) service provides full-facility backup power capacity, which Ben E. Keith says will come in handy in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, where unexpected power outages are on the rise due to factors such as increasingly frequent and severe weather events, an aging grid, and interruptions driven by major community construction.
Because of the increased automation of operations at Ben E. Keith Beverages’ facilities, outages as short as five minutes can result in prolonged and expensive delays. Also, for beverage products that require cold storage at certain temperatures, prolonged grid outages are not an option.
“Though efforts have been made toward improving the quality and reliability of our electric utility, we want to be prepared for any future outage that may occur at this location, and protect ourselves against potential business shutdowns due to utility loss,” said Jon Thompson, vice president of operations for Ben. E. Keith Beverages. “We were attracted to Enchanted Rock by their track record of helping other major Texas operations maintain power while others experienced outages and operational interruptions.
“In addition to increased resilience, we are excited by the cleaner and quieter performance of these natural gas generators.”
Enchanted Rock delivers electrical resiliency-as-a-service with natural gas reliability microgrids that exceed the country’s strictest emission requirements, according to the company. By fully managing and monitoring the microgrid 24/7, 365 days a year, Enchanted Rock will provide “worry-free reliability” for Ben E. Keith’s largest distribution center. The iROC model supplies full-facility resiliency for less than the cost of a standard reliability system, while producing fewer emissions than traditional diesel-powered backup systems.
“We want to make sure this iconic company can focus on their nationally respected distribution operations without having to worry about power outages,” said Ken Cowan, senior vice president of sales at Enchanted Rock. “Our electrical resiliency-as-a-service model ensures peace of mind for Ben E. Keith, especially with their impressive focus on automating their complex operations.
“We’re proud to ensure that our services are not only reliable, but also more sustainable.”
