Shortly after 4 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2003, employers sent workers home early, retailers closed shop and airlines grounded planes in dozens of eastern U.S. and Canadian cities. During what’s believed to be the largest blackout in North American history, 50 million people lost power, costing the nation between $4.5 and $8.2 billion, according to the Anderson Economic Group.

In Stamford, Conn. — home to the largest trading floor in North America, the headquarters of many large corporations including Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) and International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP), the North American offices of Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS-PP), and a number of large hedge funds — Guy Warner is working hard to ensure local businesses don’t get tripped by a major power outage again. CEO and president of Washington, D.C.-based Pareto Energy, Warner has invested $2.3 million to launch a “microgrid” in Stamford. Warner says the innovative power system could provide businesses — and eventually residential developments — a means to more reliable, cleaner and higher-quality power.

Pareto is partnering with the United Conference of Mayors to create “energy independence districts” in Stamford and other cities prone to power outages. In a microgrid, businesses produce their own power through onsite distributed generation and collectively feed it into the central power grid at one connection point.

Its main selling point: A microgrid can run independently from the central grid in the event of a power outage.

The country’s heightened awareness of the link between greenhouse gas emissions and climate change could increase the microgrid’s market potential even more. Many of the same companies interested in joining the Stamford microgrid as a means to more reliable power are also viewing the system as a way to improve their corporate image, Warner says.

Since microgrids typically run on natural gas or renewable energy and utilize energy-efficient technologies, they offer tenants significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions — a plus for companies with corporate sustainability commitments.