Are Power Outages Becoming More Frequent?

Rarely, we’re ever able to predict the future, and yet, one thing we know with certainty is that power outages are going to become more and more frequent over time.

The power grid is aging and quickly becoming less stable, meaning power outages will become more common and most likely take longer to resolve.

According to energy.gov, “Today’s electric grid is aging and is being pushed to do more than it was originally designed to do.”

Our existing grid was built more than 30 years ago, and upgrades are long overdue. Plus, power outages have already begun to increase. As stated by NPR, “From the 1950s to the ’80s, significant power outages averaged fewer than five per year. But that’s changed. In 2007, there were 76, in 2011, more than 300.”

While this is a terrifying realization, there are some things you can do to help. Backup generators are a great way to keep your home powered, even when the rest of your neighborhood has been knocked off the grid.

Depending on their size, home generators can run somewhere between 700 and 1500 hours. Of course, regular, proper maintenance goes a long way to help your generator have a longer lifespan. The idea of a home standby generator is that as long as it’s being fueled, it will continue to run and power your home through the course of a power outage. So, instead of being left in the dark with no heat or AC for multiple days at a time, you’ll have all your usual comforts and won’t even notice the power outage.

Portable generators are also a great option, though they do require a bit more effort from the user. Most portable generators won’t be able to power your entire home, especially for long periods, but portable generators can power the most important things in your home like refrigerators, freezers, sump pumps, lights, etc.

Power outages are more than just inconvenient, they can leave us without heat in freezing temperatures, without air conditioning in dangerous heat, and without access to important machines for our health.

Rather than wait for the inevitable, it’s best to prepare for it now while you have time to figure out what your specific needs are. We would love to help you figure out which generator is best suited for you. Give us a call at 501-315-7213 to get a free estimate.