Although NorthC expected on Friday to be able to restore power to its own facility in Almere this afternoon, that turned out to be premature. The operator now expects to have a “temporary, redundant power supply” available on Wednesday, May 13, at 12:00 p.m.
Customers will then be able to power on their IT systems in a controlled manner. “Unfortunately, this means another delay,” NorthC acknowledges. “The reason is that the delivery of a critical component needed to restore the redundant power supply has been delayed. It is now on its way from the European supplier and is expected in Almere on Tuesday morning. Immediately upon arrival, technicians will begin installation and connection.”
NorthC Fire
The fire broke out on Thursday, May 7, at the rear of the NorthC data center in Almere, where the technical facilities are located. All employees were evacuated in a timely manner. The impact on customers was widespread: from Utrecht University to the Chamber of Commerce, numerous organizations experienced disruptions.
NorthC announced the following day, on Friday morning, May 8, that the recovery operation would be complex. Among other things, technicians had to install generators, UPS systems, and distribution panels and lay over a kilometer of cable. The situation was downgraded to GRIP 0 by emergency services during the night of May 7–8.
A redundant approach as a choice
CEO Alexandra Schless explains why NorthC has opted for a directly redundant infrastructure: “The reason we are building a directly redundant power supply is that it allows us to make a seamless transition to the regular power grid at a later date without any additional interruptions.”
“We understand that this delay is impacting our customers’ operations and deeply regret this. Our teams are working around the clock to restore service as quickly as possible.”
NorthC manages more than twenty data centers in the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. The Almere data center is part of the Dutch core network. Customers have been informed and will be notified immediately as soon as power and cooling are restored at the data center.