Power Outages

Life changes when utility power fails. During a power outage your home has no lights, heat or central air. Your refrigerator, microwave, laundry equipment, Internet and television are rendered useless. We tend to take these conveniences for granted because they’re always available to us. But what happens when they’re not? 

Power outages have become more prevalent and problematic in recent years, especially in an increasingly connected world. In fact, 78% of power outages in the U.S. are weather related1, while other causes include vehicle accidents, utility equipment failure, animals and an overworked power grid. In California, for example, utilities have implemented Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) in an attempt to mitigate the risk of wildfires, instructing customers to prepare for proactive outages lasting several days. 

Power outages can also be costly. If you lose power for an extended period of time, you could be forced to pay for: