Why Winter Power Resilience Is a Q1 Issue, Not Just December
Winter risk does not end at Christmas. January and February remain challenging months for the UK power network, with sustained electricity demand, colder conditions and reduced flexibility following the festive period.
For construction and infrastructure projects, this coincides with sites restarting or increasing activity after Christmas shutdowns. As workloads ramp up, reliance on temporary and standby power increases - often using generators that have been inactive for several weeks.
Generators returning to service in cold conditions are more vulnerable to battery degradation, fuel quality issues, and cold-start stress. These problems are not always visible during inspections and often only emerge once equipment is placed back under load. As a result, failures frequently occur within the first week of restart rather than during continuous operation.
Unplanned power interruptions at this stage can affect safety and security systems, site welfare and accommodation, and overall programme certainty. Treating Q1 as a continuation of winter planning, rather than a return to normal operations, helps reduce disruption and reactive call-outs.
Central Power Services supports year-round resilience through temporary and standby power, servicing, fuel management, and parts supply.
January and February remain challenging months for the UK power network.
Did you know?
- January and February are typically colder than December in the UK, increasing cold-start stress on engines and batteries
- Battery performance can drop significantly in near-freezing conditions, increasing the risk of restart failure
- Most standby generator failures occur at restart, often within the first few days after downtime
How Central Power Services can help
Central Power Services delivers winter-ready power solutions supported by proactive maintenance, fuel management and the supply of genuine FG Wilson and leading generator brand parts.
The company supports construction, infrastructure, and events nationwide with temporary and standby power, service and maintenance, fuel management, and parts supply.
