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Date: 08/10/07

More than 60 percent of America's nearly 23 million small businesses have no backup power supply and remain vulnerable to crippling electrical outages.

The 2004 Small Business Power Poll, commissioned by Emerson (NYSE: EMR), also reveals that small businesses see the need for protection - 75 percent say electrical power outages are a threat to their business - but only one in five feels very prepared to deal with an outage.

This is alarming, small business experts say, considering the economic high stakes at hand: Small businesses, which lost billions of dollars in productivity from power outages in 2003, generate 40 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and create two thirds of all new jobs. Eighty percent of small businesses experienced at least one power outage last year; 25 percent experienced three or more outages, according to the survey.

Importantly, however, the survey shows that the majority of small businesses (58 percent) are now interested in acquiring backup power technologies traditionally used by large businesses, citing that backup power would not only protect them, but also create a competitive advantage.

 Emerson President James G. Berges said. "Small businesses play a critical role in the health of our economy, and they need to know that today there is somewhere they can turn for reliable power technology to keep their operations running 24-7."

Brian Lutgen of Camtronics Medical Systems estimated that his company would lose approximately $60,000 a day in sales if it lost power. The Hartland, Wis.-based company manufactures network systems for medical facility cardiology departments.

"Backup power is extremely important to us," Lutgen said. "Patients are monitored by our equipment during cardiac procedures. We need continuous power at our facility to be able to log in and fix any systems while there is a patient on the table."

Nationally recognized small business expert and U.S. Small Business Administration National Advisory Board member Jim Blasingame said: "Small businesses are no longer just mom-and-pop, backwater entities; they are integrated partners with large corporations. Small businesses cannot afford to risk those vital relationships by being unable to perform when the power goes out. And this really applies to all small businesses."

On Aug. 14, 2003, an overgrown tree tangled with sagging power lines in Ohio and triggered a series of human and technological gaffes that resulted in the largest power outage in North American history, putting 50 million people in the Northeastern United States and Canada in the dark (some for days) and costing the economy an estimated $6 billion in productivity. Since then, government-driven efforts to assign accountability for reliable power and begin improving the aging power grid have stalled, despite U.S. Department of Energy estimates that power outages and other significant power fluctuations cost the United States $30 billion in productivity annually.

This is not lost on Small Business Power Poll respondents, which rank the age of the power grid as an equal threat to anything Mother Nature can dish out to cut off electricity. The survey also reveals a greater percentage of small businesses in the Northeastern United States (41 percent) perceive power outages as a major threat to their business vs. small businesses in other parts of the country: South (28%), Midwest (26%), West (24%).

"The blackout was a wake-up call for small businesses. It's encouraging when you consider that 58 percent are interested in pursuing "big business" backup power technology, because the problems with the power grid won't be solved for many, many years," said Steven D. Strauss, nationally syndicated business columnist and author.

Mark Boyed, director of information technology for Pathlore Software, said that even the briefest power interruption would be costly and create chaos in the Columbus, Ohio based small business.

"We're a very centralized network management system, so if our network goes down, everyone in the company ceases to function - and that's not an overstatement," Boyed said. "Our backup power system is integral to our business. We estimate that any downtime (due to outages) costs us $2,500 an hour, and that's just internal costs."

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