Powering the magic of one of the UK’s largest Christmas markets

Date: 28/01/25

Every winter, the centre of one of the UK’s largest cities transforms into a festive wonderland as the annual Christmas market arrives. With more than 100 stalls offering everything from winter-warming food and drink to traditional handcrafted ornaments and arts and crafts, the market entices millions of visitors into the city and runs daily from early November until Christmas Eve.

But behind the twinkling lights and cheerful music lies a significant power demand. During its busiest periods, the market consumes around 400 kWh of energy each day, making reliable power generation absolutely central to its success.

The challenge

The market is entirely dependent on temporary power solutions. Every aspect of its running, from food preparation and refrigeration to lighting displays and rides such as a traditional Carousel, relies on a consistent power supply. Any disruption, no matter how minimal, can result in significant financial losses, health and safety issues, and reputational damage.

Complicating matters further is an incredibly tight build schedule for getting the market up and running. All installation must take place during narrow windows of opportunity before the city centre fills with commuters and shoppers. Crucially, mobile generators are the very first element of the market to be put in place. 

Once the market is operational, ensuring a consistent fuel supply becomes another challenge. Bulk fuel tanks are not permitted on-site, and the generators are nestled at the centre of the market, surrounded by stalls, making emergency refuelling during market opening hours impossible.

The solution

With these challenges at the forefront of mind, the market’s organisers turned to Central Power Services (CPS) to deliver a best-in-class temporary power solution for the market. With a long-standing existing relationship, the organisers knew they could rely on CPS to deliver a solution that performs optimally and without disruption.

Russell Pritchard, Sales Manager at CPS explains: "We understand that power is the heartbeat of the market. So our goal is to provide not just equipment, but absolute peace of mind for the organisers. That starts from the very first moments of the build stage in mid-October, right through to the last day of the market on Christmas Eve.”

Coordinated build stage

The generators are the very first elements of the market to be installed and act as the foundation around which everything else is constructed. Russell Pritchard explains: "Timing is everything as we have a small window to get the generators in place before the city wakes up. We plan installation well in advance to ensure that, on the day, it goes without a hitch. After all, any delay with getting the generators in place and up-and-running can set the entire build schedule for the entire market back."

This meticulous planning saw a team of CPS engineers arrive at the site of the market at 4:00am on a late-October morning. Utilising an articulated and a crane-mounted lorry for efficient delivery and unloading, they quickly but carefully positioned and installed five diesel generators across a number of strategic locations. 

By 6:30am, the installation was complete and the CPS team handed over to the next stages of construction. With the generators in place, hoarding is erected around them and the process of building stalls outwards from these central locations begins.

Innovative refuelling solution

With bulk fuel tanks off the table, CPS devised a bespoke fuelling strategy for the generators. “The limitations around how much fuel can be stored for each generator is a particular ongoing challenge, given how much energy each unit will be producing on peak days,” explains Pritchard. “We therefore devised a bespoke strategy for maximising the amount of fuel we can store with each generator without the use of bulk tanks.”

CPS selected multiple sets of kVA rated units equipped with in-built bunded fuel tanks, with a capacity of up to 1,000 litres, for the project. The increased integral capacity ensures that each generator has enough fuel to operate for at least an entire day, even during peak times.

As refuelling isn’t an option during market hours, CPS has also formulated and manages a meticulous refuelling schedule for the generators, delivering fuel every night after the market closes. CPS also provides weekly maintenance checks and 24/7 provision for any emergency requirements and, if necessary, temporary back-up generator solutions.

Summing up, Russell Pritchard states; “The market is an iconic event that brings joy to millions of visitors each year. So it’s incredibly important that when it comes to something as fundamental as power generation, we deliver a comprehensive and reliable end-to-end solution that ensures the market runs smoothly day after day.”

If you’re organising a Christmas market or any other event that will rely on temporary power, get in touch with Central Power Services to find out how it can support you with a consistent, reliable and reassuring solution: https://www.central-power.co.uk/ or 0845 437 9750.

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