Commercial Backup Power & Energy Management in California

From our Santa Rosa headquarters, Summit designs and installs commercial backup power systems that keep North Bay and San Francisco businesses open through outages and shutoffs, bringing generators, battery storage, solar, and energy monitoring into one plan.

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Family-Owned in Santa Rosa Since 1968 | In-House Licensed Electricians, No Subcontractors | 24/7 Service | California Contractor Licenses 255064, 793873, 808916

Keep Your Business Open When the Grid Goes Down

Picture a Saturday in October. The tasting room is full, your fermentation tanks need steady temperatures, and the utility has just announced a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) for your area. What happens next depends on the plan you made months ago.

Across much of the North Bay, PSPS events are part of running a business. Utilities cut power to lower wildfire risk during dry, windy weather, and some shutoffs last for days. When the grid drops, your coolers start warming, and your point-of-sale terminals go dark. Security cameras lose power, along with the pumps that keep water moving.

We plan backup power as part of how your property uses energy every day. The same batteries and controls that carry you through a shutoff can trim your energy costs the rest of the year, building long-term value and making you less dependent on the grid.

Power Continuity Solutions for Commercial Properties

A generator is usually where the conversation starts. A complete plan sometimes adds two more systems that share the work, each sized to what your property needs.

Commercial Generator Installation

If your business needs to run for days without the grid, a standby generator is the backbone of your plan. We size every business backup generator from a load assessment of your property, so the equipment you depend on is covered and you don’t pay for capacity you won’t use.

An automatic transfer switch (ATS) senses when utility power drops and moves your critical circuits to the generator within seconds. If your panel or electrical service needs an upgrade to support the new system, our commercial electrical team handles that too.

Fuel

Most commercial standby generators run on natural gas or propane, with diesel common for larger loads. We’ll recommend the right fuel for your site and runtime needs.

Placement

On a guest-facing property, where the generator sits matters as much as its size. We plan placement to keep it out of guests’ sight and earshot, and we keep wildfire safety in mind when siting equipment near dry vegetation.

Permits

Summit confirms permits and electrical requirements up front, checking everything against existing codes.

Battery Storage & Solar Integration

Battery storage takes over the instant utility power drops, so most short outages pass without your guests noticing. Pair batteries with solar, and they recharge from the sun. Add a generator, and you have a hybrid system ready for both brief interruptions and multi-day shutoffs.

Commercial battery storage systems also reduce how much grid power you draw during the most expensive hours of the day, which lowers your peak demand charges. To plan the solar side of your system, explore our commercial solar and battery solutions.

Energy Monitoring & Management

Do you know which equipment drives your highest utility bills? Our commercial energy management systems show your usage in real time, so you can see where power goes and shift loads to control costs.

During an outage, the same system decides which circuits stay powered. You set the priorities ahead of time, so backup power goes where it protects the most revenue.

How a Hybrid Backup Power System Works

A two-hour outage and a three-day shutoff call for different tools. In a hybrid system, each one handles the stage it does best:

The battery picks up your critical loads the moment the grid drops.
If the outage runs long, the generator starts and carries the load.
When the sun is up, solar recharges the batteries and cuts generator runtime.

	Generator	Battery Storage	Solar	Hybrid System
Role during an outage	Carries critical loads through extended events	Takes over instantly	Recharges batteries in daylight	Each system works in sequence
Best for	Multi-day shutoffs	Short outages and quick transitions	Extending battery runtime	Short and extended outages
Day-to-day value	Standby only	Lowers peak demand charges	Offsets utility energy use	Savings plus continuity
Noise and emissions	Audible, with exhaust	Silent, no emissions	Silent, no emissions	Generator runs only when needed
Maintenance	Regular exercise and load testing	Health monitoring	Periodic inspection	One plan covers the whole system

No single setup fits every property. A winery with a barrel room and a downtown restaurant need different answers, which is why every Summit design starts with a commercial backup power assessment.

Load Testing and Ongoing Monitoring

A generator that hasn’t run in a year is a gamble. The time to find a weak starting battery or a slow transfer switch is during a scheduled test, well before the next shutoff.

Scheduled exercise and load testing. We run your generator under load and confirm the transfer switch responds.
Battery health monitoring. We track how your storage system performs over time.
Early alerts. You hear about a problem before an outage exposes it.
24/7 service. Our Santa Rosa team is available around the clock.
Support for any system. We service backup power equipment whether we installed it or not.

Commercial Backup Power for Wineries and Hospitality Venues

Every property has a short list of systems it can’t afford to lose. Here’s how we plan around yours.

Wine barrel and bottle storage kept at steady temperatures

Wineries

Harvest and crush run from late summer into fall, the same stretch when PSPS events are most likely. We protect cold storage and fermentation temperature control first, then keep your tasting room open for guests.

Hospitality lounge and event space with outdoor seating

Hospitality and Event Venues

A wedding reception can’t pause for a utility shutoff. Battery transitions happen without a sound, and we house generators in enclosures designed to blend with your grounds. See our hospitality technology solutions.

Restaurant dining room with refrigeration, lighting and IT systems on backup power

Restaurants, Offices and Commercial Facilities

Refrigeration and IT systems need to stay up through an outage. We also keep security systems and life-safety loads, like emergency lighting, on backup power.

Our Backup Power Design & Installation Process

You’ll work with one team from the first walkthrough to the last service call. Our licensed electricians are on staff, and we never subcontract the work.

01

Site walkthrough and load assessment. We audit your energy use and identify the loads that must stay on.

02

Design and engineering. We produce CAD drawings and document every requirement before work begins.

03

Permitting and utility coordination. We file permits and work with PG&E on your behalf.

04

Installation. Our in-house crews schedule work around your business hours and events.

05

Commissioning and load testing. We test the full system under load before handoff.

06

Ongoing support. Maintenance visits and 24/7 service keep your system ready.

Serving Businesses Across the North Bay

Summit has served the North Bay from Santa Rosa since 1968. Find your community on our North Bay service areas page.

Sonoma County
Our home base. We work with wineries and businesses from Healdsburg and Geyserville down through Kenwood, Sonoma, Petaluma, and out to Bodega. Many of these properties sit in high fire-threat areas, where generator placement takes extra care.

Napa County
St. Helena and valley wineries count on steady cold storage through harvest, when crush season and shutoff season tend to overlap.

Marin County
Commercial sites in San Rafael and Mill Valley often have tight footprints and close neighbors. We lean on battery storage and compact enclosures there, and the same approach serves businesses in Novato.

San Francisco
Restaurants and commercial buildings in the city face similar space and noise limits. Battery-forward designs keep kitchens and IT running without disturbing the block.

We also take on projects throughout California for businesses that want one partner for backup power and energy management.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a commercial generator work with solar and battery storage during a PSPS event?

Each system covers a different stage of the shutoff. Here’s the sequence:

Grid power drops, and the battery picks up your critical loads instantly.
If the shutoff continues, the generator starts and carries the load.
During daylight, solar recharges the batteries and reduces generator runtime.

What size generator does my business need?

It depends on your critical loads, meaning the equipment that must stay on during an outage. We measure those loads during a site assessment and size the generator to carry them reliably, without paying for capacity you’ll never use.

Do commercial generators in Sonoma and Napa counties need air district permits?

Yes, in most cases. Stationary generators often need a permit from the local air district, along with building and electrical permits. Summit handles the permitting process for you.

Can a Sonoma or Napa winery keep cold storage and fermentation running through a PG&E outage?

Yes. A battery and generator system can keep cold storage and fermentation cooling running through extended outages. The first step is a critical-load assessment, which tells us what your cellar needs to stay on.

How quiet can backup power be at a Wine Country hospitality venue or event space?

Battery storage is silent, so guests won’t hear a thing during short outages. For longer events, we place generators away from guest areas to mitigate noise.

How does battery storage lower peak demand charges for California businesses?

Batteries discharge during your utility’s peak periods, so you draw less grid power when demand charges are highest. For example, a restaurant can run kitchen equipment from stored energy through the dinner rush, then recharge overnight or from solar.

Can someone service a backup power system in Marin or Sonoma County that they didn’t install?

Yes. Summit services and maintains backup power systems whether we installed them or not. That includes repairs and upgrades, along with ongoing monitoring.

Schedule Your Backup Power Assessment

Tell us about your property and the systems you can’t afford to lose. Do you already have a generator or solar and battery equipment on site? Your answers help us plan the on-site visit. One in-house team handles your design and installation, then stays with you for long-term support.

We serve Sonoma, Napa, and Marin counties, along with San Francisco and projects across California.

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