Xcel shuts off power to 18,000 Colorado customers on purpose

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Last Tuesday the power went out for about 3 minutes before the generator started. No storm, no warning. Just dark and no internet connection. I sat there for a minute realizing I hadn’t checked my backup generator in months. Not great. That little wake-up call turned into this week’s issue. Sometimes the best reminder is a small failure. Here’s what I’ve got this week.

What 48 Hours Without Power Actually Looks Like

Most people think of a power outage as a minor inconvenience. Candles, maybe a board game, early bedtime. And for a few hours, that’s accurate. But stretch it past 24 hours and things shift in ways you don’t expect.

Your fridge starts warming after about four hours with the door closed. By hour twelve, you’re making decisions about what to cook before it spoils. Your phone is dead or dying. If it’s summer, your house is getting uncomfortable fast. If it’s winter, depending on your heating system, it’s getting cold.

The most common mistake people make is buying a generator they don’t understand. A whole-house standby unit from Generac is fantastic if you can afford the $5,000 to $15,000 installed price. But most people are better served starting with a portable power station or a dual-fuel portable generator in the $300 to $1,000 range.

Before you buy anything, figure out what you actually need to run. Not everything. Just the essentials: your fridge, a few lights, phone chargers, and maybe a fan or space heater. Add up the wattage. Most households can cover the basics with 1,000 to 2,000 watts.

Dual-fuel generators that run on both gasoline and propane give you flexibility. Gas is easier to find but harder to store long term. Propane stores indefinitely and burns cleaner. Having both options means you’re not stuck when one fuel runs short.

If you go with a gas generator, never run it indoors or in a garage. Carbon monoxide kills more people during outages than the events that caused the blackouts. Place it at least 20 feet from windows and doors, exhaust pointing away from the house.

A portable power station is the quieter, simpler option. No fuel, no fumes, no maintenance. You charge it from a wall outlet or solar panel and it’s ready when you need it. The tradeoff is capacity. Most portable stations won’t run your fridge for more than 12 to 18 hours.

Start with your actual needs, not your fears. A $300 portable power station and a plan to eat the perishables first will get most families through a 48-hour outage just fine.

Find your home’s wattage baseline.

Walk around your house and write down the wattage of the things you’d need running during an outage: fridge, phone charger, a lamp, maybe a fan. Check the labels on each device or look up the model online. Add them up. That number is your starting point for any backup power purchase. Takes ten minutes.

Hit reply and let me know how it went. I read everything.

“Triple-Threat Megastorm” Set to Impact 200 Million Americans This Weekend

A rapidly intensifying storm system is bearing down on the U.S. from Sunday into Monday, bringing blizzard conditions across the northern plains, a severe weather outbreak in the south, and damaging winds of 40 to 60 mph across dozens of states. The system follows Friday’s high-wind event that already knocked out power to nearly 600,000 customers across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan — with an 85 mph gust recorded at Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport. AccuWeather projects more than 4,400 flight cancellations between Sunday and Tuesday, and warns of a dangerous “flash freeze” as the storm exits the East Coast. If you’ve been meaning to test your backup power setup, this weekend is the reason.

Source: Washington Post, NBC News, South Florida Reporter

Jonathan Hollerman is a former USAF SERE Instructor who now consults on long-term preparedness and retreat design. In his book Survival Theory , he makes an observation that cuts against the usual prepper instinct: most people over-buy on generators and under-plan on fuel. A 10,000-watt generator is worthless if you only have enough gas to run it for eight hours. Hollerman recommends calculating your minimum daily wattage needs first, then buying a generator sized to those needs, not your wants. The money you save on a smaller unit goes toward fuel storage, which is the actual limiting factor. His approach is about matching your gear to your realistic scenario, not your worst-case fantasy.

Xcel Energy Shuts Off Power to 17,800 Customers in Colorado Amid Extreme Wildfire Danger

Xcel Energy deliberately cut power to nearly 18,000 customers across Boulder County, Colorado on Saturday as extreme wildfire conditions, including gusts over 80 mph and single-digit humidity, created what officials called one of the most dangerous fire weather events in recent memory. The Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) began around midday and peaked at roughly 11,600 simultaneous outages by 4:30 p.m. Residents were warned to prepare for extended outages with no firm restoration timeline. The shutoffs highlight a growing tension in grid management: utilities are now choosing to leave people in the dark rather than risk sparking another Marshall Fire-level disaster. For anyone relying on electric heat, medical devices, or even a powered garage door, the message is clear — your utility company may decide your power is the acceptable tradeoff.

Source: Boulder Reporting Lab, CPR News

Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus

I’ve been running the Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus for about three months as my household backup power station. It puts out 2,000 watts surge and 1,500 watts continuous, which is enough to run my fridge for roughly 14 hours or keep phones and laptops charged for days. It weighs about 31 pounds, so it’s portable but not ultralight. The built-in app shows remaining capacity in real time, which takes the guesswork out. Pairs with Jackery solar panels for recharging off-grid. Around $799 at full price, though it goes on sale regularly.

If that’s too steep, the Bluetti AC70 covers the basics at around $599 with 1,000 watts output.

Underrated: A simple power strip with a built-in surge protector for your electronics. When power comes back on, the surge can fry your gear. A $35 fix for a $500 problem.

GridStatus.io — Real-time grid demand and alerts by region. See how stressed your local grid is right now.

Battery University — Deep reference on how batteries actually work, degrade, and should be stored.

EIA: Electricity Data — Federal data on US electricity generation and consumption trends.

Kill-A-Watt Meter — Plug in any device and see exactly how many watts it pulls. Essential for sizing backup power.

Lights Out by Ted Koppel — The journalist’s investigation into how vulnerable the US grid really is.

ERCOT: Texas Grid Dashboard — If you’re in Texas, this is the page to bookmark.

Next week we’re covering first aid basics, specifically the handful of skills that matter most when you can’t get to a hospital right away. No medical degree required. Just common sense and a little practice.

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Have you ever actually used a generator or power station during an outage? Or is yours still in the box? No judgment either way.