Each spring, severe weather in the form of thunderstorms, high winds and even tornadoes will roll across mid-Michigan. In 2011, just before Memorial Day, we experienced a storm that featured high winds, driving rain and even some hail. There was no apparent damage to the house or cars, but we were without power.
The cause of the power outage was immediately apparent. The high voltage “Y” shaped aluminum power towers, and the high voltage lines that run between them to feed the transfer station about a mile west of our house were badly damaged. While not called a tornado, the winds had been powerful enough to twist many of the towers like a pretzel, and rip others completely out of the ground. High-tension power lines were snapped like cheap string.
We live in a society that is dependent on electricity. Stop for a moment to think about how much of our day is tied to electricity. Every morning the alarm wakes us and the toaster helps with breakfast. Traffic lights make getting to work faster and safer. Computers and cell phones need power. Getting money from the ATM, nighttime school events, reading a book late at night, the midnight snack from the refrigerator and much more are only possible because of the electricity fed to our homes and communities by power lines.
The most we had ever been without power had been about two days. This repair promised to take much longer. In the end, it would be six days before power returned. We were prepared for a two, or even a three-day power outage, but had not been ready for anything longer. We have a number of flashlights and lanterns on hand, but most of our batteries are rechargeable and most of them were in a drawer, completely dead. We had a refrigerator/freezer and a standup freezer that were filled with frozen vegetables from the garden, a couple of frozen pizzas, a turkey and a few pounds of meat. Being on city water, and with a self-igniting water heater, we had a steady flow of water and did not have to worry about a pump, taking away one concern.
Looking back on the six days, we were prepared for a short power outage, but not a longer one. Our two biggest inconveniences were defrosting food and no lights. We had a crank powered radio to keep us connected with the world and listen to baseball games. We cooked the pizzas on our backpack oven. We cooked meat on the grill. Everything else was packed in coolers and the coolers covered with sleeping bags to insulate them more. The turkey would help keep the rest of the food cold enough to save to be cooked when the power came back and then refrozen, while the vegetables would be dehydrated.
The easy solution for the next major power outage would have been to purchase a portable generator, or have a natural gas generator connected to our home. Or, would a better solution be to re-think how, and how much power we use. The Amish live complete lives without power. We should be able to last a few days.
We took steps to be better prepared. Now, there is always a fresh 24-pack of AA batteries in the house to provide enough light to last for two weeks. We have emptied the freezer, instead choosing to dehydrate or can the vegetables we normally would have placed there. We keep a lot less frozen meat on hand. By not having a freezer in the basement, we save about $10 a month in electricity. There are now prepared “ready kits,” with clothes, a first-aid kit and food for three days for the family, the dog and the cat ready to go.
The greatest lesson learned is how much power we have reduced how much electricity we use, and our bill, by about 20 per cent. Since the storm, we have been more aware of when a light or bathroom fan is left on. We turn off computers when finished. We have identified the appliances in the house that use standby power, and have specialized power strips that will only power up a connected device when the main device is turned on. The best example is the DVD player receives power only when the television is on.
It is just a matter of time before we lose power again. But the lessons that have been learned, and the changes that have been made in our lifestyle, will hopefully make that time less stressful.
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