Power failures from hurricanes are projected to increase 50 percent in the coming decades

www.nytimes.com

Beryl Live Updates: ‘We’re in an Emergency,’ Houston Mayor Warns

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If they’d bury the power lines and/or install neighborhood batteries, this wouldn’t be an issue. But that costs money.
- Why invest in infrastructure when we can give that money to billionaires?
  I'm not a small government type, but god am I tired of taxpayer dollars going to big oil, animal ag, banks and arms dealers that are literally trying to speed run the end of humankind.
  
  I'm not a small government type, but god am I tired of taxpayer dollars going to big oil, animal ag, banks and arms dealers that are literally trying to speed run the end of humankind.
  It'd seem to me that the problem isn't with the size of the government but the sort of people elected to run it.
- I agree and wish they would but the water table in Texas and Louisiana are pretty high so if they attempted to dig the lines, they would hit water pretty quick. For example, there's a reason they don't bury people in New Orleans and there are above ground tombs. I live down here and after consistent power failures I finally invested in a home generator. I hope it will increase my home value when I'm finally able to get out of here.
  
  And yet somehow they bury all the water, sewer, and gas lines.
Yep. I've invested in multiple forms of self sufficient power because of this risk.
Solar, battery backup, and a generator as a last resort.
Out next home will prioritize or be modified with improved passive solar techniques to maximize what we have.
Microgrid/self sufficient backup is the future.
Unfortunately it is expensive and privileged to be able to do, especially at the home level. This is a highlighted impact of climate change that has unbalanced socioeconomic consequences
- Microgrid/self sufficient backup is the future.
  Horribly inefficient relative to a large MUD connected to a durable grid and industrial scale green energy production.
  But in America, we only know how to build big when we build sloppy. So its the best alternative any individual resident has.
  
  Anywhere on earth, if you want backup power, you need to build it yourself.
  I don't care how many layers of generation the municipality has, if a storm knocks them out, I can't blame them for shutting the system down to repair it.
- Yeah, I did the same over time. I had a small solar array and a dual fuel generator but fuel deliveries and the power grid weren’t available after a storm so everyone ran out. People were lining up at 5am at gas stations. So, I added a battery and more panels to the array. It was fairly expensive up front but I have a PHEV and am at a latitude where solar works well except in storms or the dead of winter (when it’s pleasant out anyway). And the days after hurricanes are basically always sunny.
  It always makes me laugh a little bit when people say solar and wind aren’t reliable. Maybe where you live but for me, the grid and gasoline aren’t necessarily reliable when I need them most. I’d rather have backup.
  I suspect it’s also saved me money on appliances and electronics. A lot of people seem to have them die shortly after power grid issues. (It makes intuitive sense that unstable amounts of intermittent electricity coming through would burn out appliances but I don’t know for sure.)
Can confirm, we had power during Harvey and the two major freezes, but lost power today. First time being without power for more than an hour in 7ish years of being in our current house.

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