The Assignment
A local Hospital’s Sterile Services Unit (SSU) provides critical sterilisation of surgical instruments for
the wider NHS Essex network. When the SSU upgraded to higher-capacity equipment, the existing mains supply could no longer support the increased load. The appointed principal electrical contractor was charged with isolating the hospital’s mains for up to eight weeks to facilitate the infrastructure upgrade. NHS facilities team stipulated that under no circumstances could the SSU experience a power interruption, as any loss of supply would halt sterilisation cycles.
Templant Rental Power was engaged to deliver a turnkey temporary installation that would match the
reliability and performance of the hospital’s permanent supply. From the initial enquiry on 10 October
2024 through to final decommissioning in December, the brief was clear: design, install, operate and
remove a system with absolute redundancy and seamless changeover.
The Plan
Following a site meeting and detailed load assessment on 22 October 2024, our engineer identified
frequent demand spikes that exceeded average consumption, rendering an initial proposal of a single
400 kVA generator and 3,000 L tank inadequate. Templant’s revised solution specified two 700 kVA
diesel generators in an N+1 configuration, each paired with a 5,000 L fuel tank to ensure extended
runtime and instantaneous standby capacity. An automated 1250 A AMF panel was selected to
achieve zero-loss changeover, and a 1,600 A Mains Distribution Unit was installed to segregate
essential SSU circuits in line with HTM 06-01.
All equipment underwent a Factory Acceptance Test and pre-hire inspection on 23 October, with
certificates issued to eliminate onsite commissioning delays. On 24 October, Templant’s in-house
transport and crane delivered the generators, cabling and acoustic barriers, and our internal
installation team completed the build-out and commissioning within two hours. RAMS, Lifting Plans,
ISO 9001 quality assurance and ISO 45001 health & safety documentation were approved in
advance, and cabling, fencing and noise mitigation measures were implemented to satisfy BS 7671,
EN 61439, PUWER 1998 and NHS acoustic criteria.
The Result
Over the six-week, six-day programme (24 October–10 December 2024), the dual-generator system
performed flawlessly. Automated transfer to backup during simulated power failures occurred
instantaneously, and no loss of supply was recorded throughout the full mains outage. Templant’s
24/7 remote monitoring, tri-daily onsite inspections and rapid on-call response ensured proactive
maintenance and fault resolution. Following successful restoration and testing of the hospital’s
permanent supply on 9 December, our team demobilised the temporary installation by 6 am the next
day without impacting SSU operations. By running the generators on HVO fuel and employing local
transport and engineers, the project also delivered on environmental and social responsibility goals
achieving zero downtime, full NHS compliance and a minimal carbon footprint.
