I have been cautioning about our a complete power loss in our country - a total blackout.  I will reiterate, it will happen and relatively soon. And in this case, ‘relatively’ is defined as  “within the next 20 years beginning tomorrow”.  These are the six possibilities.

1. Physical attack on our electric substations.

We have moved attack to our electric substations to number one, as how this could be accomplished, which wasn’t the case too long ago. Why? Because of the increased number of attacks against our electric company sub stations and high voltage transformers - often in easy access areas. This is where the high voltage is reduced to being usable for homes and business. We have over 50,000 substations in this country, Disabling one can set off a cascading effect through out our electric grid well beyond the area for which it is intended. A well planned attack in multiple areas could effect the entire country.

The first event (video) of this type was a decade ago back in 2013. It was well organized and easy enough to carry out. All one has to do is shoot at the transformers, which could be done from afar. It came a hair's breadth from blacking out Silicon Valley. The story was for the most part hushed up for a decade, presumably because of its simplicity and concern for copycats. To this day, it has not been solved. 

In recent times they have begun anew with in Charlotte, NC (video) in December of 2022. followed by Oregon and Washington on Christmas day. (Video) This time with  media coverage.

Biden’s open border policy, has let in more than two million refugees  and they are coming from all over the world including  Asia and the Middle East. A small cadre can reorganize once here and wreak all sorts of havoc like shooting and destroying a power station with minimum effort and just a couple .308 Winchester's. Our electric grid is our Achilles heel, and must not be thought of lightly.

2. Hacking

You've no doubt read of municipalities, industry, and banks being hacked using ransomware - a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. In addition there is spyware, used by corporations and the military to steal industrial secrets or cause sabotage.

In this regard, the government tells us there has been plenty of foreign and domestic cyber snooping (hacking) around power stations and their grid networks. "They've [the hackers] have had access to the power off button, but they haven't pushed it", said a Jonathan Homer, Homeland Security's chief of industrial control systems. December 2020, cybersecurity professionals began to unravel an extraordinary cyberattack on a little-known company based in Texas called Solar Winds. By hijacking the firm’s software-update mechanism, the hackers had gained the means for covert entry into their choice of thousands of unsuspecting customers.

That attack, which the U.S. government blamed on Russia, infiltrated scores of federal agencies and private companies and was widely described as one of the worst intelligence failures in history. Then, it seemed, things couldn’t get much worse when in Mid December '21, saw a large flaw in widely used internet software known as Log4j, which has left companies and government officials scrambling to respond to a glaring cybersecurity threat to global computer networks. Both the aforementioned are almost forgotten about today.

Remember  the hacker doesn't have to be Chinese or Russian, he can be a recluse in Estonia, or in a basement in Brooklyn. He could be trying to turn off our power for the fun of it. 

Have you thought about an extended loss of power? That also means no water and sewer, and no re-charging your Tesla. We’ll get to that later.

3. Solar Activity (and it is inevitable)

Our sun produces what is called Solar Flares, If you've not heard of them, 'a Physics Girl's Video will explain'. They can wreak havoc with our satellite and GPS systems as they are above our atmosphere. Just this year a rather mundane space storm knocked out 40 of Mr. Musk's SpaceX satellites. When solar flares are active, the aurora borealis or northern lights can really light up the skies of the earth’s northern hemisphere.

But a solar flare can also be a forerunner of and event called a Coronal Mass Ejection, Think of it as our sun having a hiccup, and If it is aimed towards earth, it wont be pleasant. It is essentially a cyclical, powerful and directional release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field which will simply fry all non-shielded electronic circuitry. Which means you wont want to be in a plane, elevator or on dialysis or have a pacemaker when an EMP takes place. Cars too, electric or gas, as both today are integrally dependent on computers. They to will come to a screeching halt or go off the proverbial cliff.

Our sun cycles between periods of storm and slumber over the course of 11 years or so and has more to do with our global warming than the climatologists acknowledge. We are now moving into our active period with its peak due APRIL 2024. These cycles are linked to the sun’s internal magnetic activity, and are unmasked by telltale phenomena such as sunspots and the aforementioned solar flares. This time, maybe the sun will wake from its hibernation with over due fervor. Meanwhile while at the same time, NASA’s Parker Solar Orbiter is continuously swooping closer to our sun than any craft to date. It is intended to give advance warning (15-18 hrs.). See The Nat Geo Story.

Governments have no control over this - only a short warning period. Just know, it will happen. We have a pretty good idea how often they occur and we are presently past due. Also know, the CME might not be aimed directly at us, and it could be aimed at the other side of the earth sparing  lucky folks on its dark side,.

And if you are wondering, yes, it has happened before. The first recorded happening was the “Carrington Event” during the birth of the telegraph in the late 1800’s. Sparks leaped from the telegraph and their wires set fires. Again in 1989, ground currents from a less intense geomagnetic storm knocked out a high-voltage transformer at a hydroelectric power plant in Quebec, plunging the Canadian province into a prolonged 9-hour blackout on an icy winter night.  (see video below)

There have been still other CME's in the interim since the Carrington Event in the late 1800’s. Fortunately they were aimed in a different direction - away from Earth. Remember a CME is not to be confused with a SOLAR FLARE which is less harmful but usually proceed a CME and arrive in a few minutes. Where as the CME takes hours to arrive. For an early warning of such an event, NASA and the European Space Agency have launched a Solar Orbiter to monitor our Sun’s activity.    This is what a Google Search Says Right Now !

4. Electromagnetic Pulse

Essentially it’s a nuclear bomb set off high in the atmosphere emitting an electromagnetic pulse which could cover our whole nation. It has the same effect as a CME.   The US, China and Russia already have them in their arsenals. As an example, a 1.5 Megaton bomb ignited about 100 miles above the center of our nation, would destroy most of the electronics that were not protected (shielded) in the entire Continental United States. Video: Early experimentation.  

5. A I  -  Artificial Intelagence 

Spring of 2023 saw numerous dire warnings issued by tech leaders to slow down, even stop on AI development. None other than Elon Musk let the pack. AI has become so "intelegent" that it can even write essays term papers and computer code. I asked ChatGTP, Microsoft's version of OpenAI on its browser Bing the following:

To Bing/ChatGTP:
Write an essay on our total loss of electricity and the odds of it happening by the following; 1) Physical attack on grid and transformers. 2) Cyber and or hacking. 3) Solar activity such as Flares and CME's. 4) EMP’s by man and Nature. 5) Artificial Intelligence.  IT'S REPLY  is  HERE.

There is even a startup called Veritone which is in the business of installing AI systems to control our grid. Now that really scares the hell out of this writer. Their promo video is here /span>

6. The Biden Administration

With the exception of solar activity, the other four mentioned threats are within the purview of our enemies. And what would be a better time than when the pusillanimous Joe Biden is president. Additionally, "his administration has determined to advance its radical climate agenda and has made it clear they are hellbent on doing everything in their power to regulate coal and gas-fueled power plants out of existence, no matter the cost to energy security and reliability." -Joe Manchin. The aforementioned is part of the Biden administration ambitious goals to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 while at the same time the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that the nation needs to roughly double transmission system capacity by 2035.

As For What To Do

During Loss by Hacking or Substation Destruction.

In the cases of loss by hacking or Transformer destruction. Battery powered electronics and devices would still function and emergency generators would kick in, however generator backup would be for as long as there is a fuel supply. The most serious effects will impact primarily the cities. Elevators, subways, being stuck in your 26th floor co-op. Your battery powered radio tells you to hang on, power will resume in 24 to 72 hours. Hopefully you have a weeks supply of canned foods and bottled water in your pantry. Fill your tub the minute the power goes off where ever you are.

Loss by a Coronal Mass Ejection or Electromagnetic Pulse

In this case, a CME or EMT Event,  You'll have to resort to your PRIMAL INSTINCTS unless you have prepared and are at, or can get to, your safe location aka "Bug Out" home. Fundamentally,  get out of the city. Have a plan.

Often over looked is the fact that water and sewer will cease flowing except limitedly if you live in a country town with a gravity fed water tower and have a septic system.

As you can see electricity is humanity's life blood, especially if you are on dialysis or have a pace maker. When the power remains off past a week there will be anarchy. Survival will be humanities primary instinct. Teaming up with others can be useful. And of course so would firearms and knowledge of their use.

There is no time like the present to bone up on Prepping. Aside from the issue of loss of electricity due to the above, what about political unrest. Out of the question?

Beyond that we now enter the realm / domain of the PREPPER - a trend that became popular during the Obama administration. There was even a weekly TV show of the same name. One very popular website is survivorlibrary.com and there is a lot of material that can be googled TODAY!. But remember the internet will be gone when you need it. So download, save, copy and paste then print articles of interest or save in your lap top if it has battery life.

It is not our intent to get into the subject of prepping, except for mentioning a few fundamentals. It never hurts under any circumstances to have a portable radio and flashlight with plenty of batteries best kept in a metal tool box, file cabinet or equivalent.  A couple weeks's worth of canned food that need not be refrigerated. Plenty of water too. Use caution is storing gas for your generator and in a safe place like a detached shed. And Yes, one of the first things do disappear is toilet paper, even paper towels as you found out during the COVID-19 lockdowns. See list 

As for all the particulars, from hacking to an EMP/CME event on our electrical grid, the following discussion is
one of the best and most recent, albeit a bit technical. The first sentence will scare the crap out of you.

Video - FORGET ABOUT COVID 19, WORRY ABOUT AN EMP with Dr. Peter Pry and Frank Gaffney  (47 min)

GET YOUSELF A CB / CITIZEN BAND RADIO NOW!

Video - HOW LONG WOULD SOCIETY LAST DURING A TOTAL GRID COLLAPSE  (15min)

Video - THE CARRINGTON EVENT  |   A SHORT DOCUMENTARY  |   FASCINATING HORROR  (13 min)