In 2021, 11 million Texans were out of power for up to and more than three days. If there was access to power the cost ballooned to $9000 per H as opposed the the normal $25. Most power outages last only a few hours, but with longer-term outages things can grow tense.
Grady from the YouTube channel “Practical Engineering” walks through a multi-day power outage and what that looks like on a larger scale. The way he explains the gnarls of a long-term power outage helps the average Joe to understand just how serious things can get when modern day life goes without power.
He uses the example of the multi-day Texas power outage that he experienced himself. He even points out how the Texas grid was five minutes away from complete collapse. It is one of the largest emergency response catastrophes in American history… and it went far better than it could have.
The video is worth watching. Some of the point he brings up are:
- Little to no cell phone service/ internet.
- There are priority locations that have backup batteries, onsite generators, or priority grid power (meaning if there is a little power – they will get power and you likely won’t). Most of these power generators won’t last longer than 48 hours. Emergency and Public Safety such as 911 may get through.
- Emergency Alerts will sound to warn you of a longer outage.
- You will run out of two-way communication and will have to rely on one-way communication like radio.
- Food will be difficult to buy from stores without power. If a store opens you will have to pay cash, and you’ll have to shop in the dark.
- Refrigerated Medications and medical machines will have issues.
- After 48 hours there is a good chance your water won’t work. There are holding stations, but water is hard to move and requires much energy. If there is none you will have no water. (Every state is different in storage requirements).
- Your sewage will also not be pumping. When the back up power runs out or the storage units fill up…there will be a mess on everyone’s hands.
- Gas pumps won’t pump without power, so you will be stuck if your car is not full to begin with. And if there is gas there is a good chance it will be prioritized to emergency vehicles and generator operation.
- Banks will be shut down. Trains will be shut down. Cars, if they do have gas, will have a hard time making it through the streets without power to the lights in the intersections.
Grady points out that many neighbors were helping one another, but the best way you can make it through the rare chance you encounter a multi-day power outage is to be prepared. Run through the list above and think about what you might want to have to help make it comfortably through the inconveniences you’ll be sure to encounter in a long-term power outage. Some items might include:
- Toilet bags and toilet powder to help keep a messy situation manageable.
- A solar power or crank radio for emergency updates.
- Additional water on hand.
- Food that wouldn’t require cooking, and/or cooking equipment and fuel to cook food.
- A battery operated light source.
- If you live in a cold place – lots of extra blankets, hand warmers, and/or a generator to plug a heater into. (A friendly reminder to be very cautious about the way you heat your home and the location you place your generator as carbon monoxide poisoning kills people in emergency situations too).
The better prepared you are the more calm you will be if and when disaster strikes, and the more calm you are the better you will be able to take care of your family as well as be available to help your neighbors when times are tough. Grady has several videos on engineering responses to large-scale catastrophe and they are all worth the watch.