When the Power Goes Dark.

By: Ericson Tua'one

On Friday morning, June 26, Rocky Mountain Power began cutting electricity to approximately 7,735 customers across southern Utah.

The shutoff was a precaution. Extreme fire conditions made keeping some lines energized too dangerous. Power was restored to affected customers by June 28.

Picture a kitchen during a summer shutoff. The refrigerator hum stops. The cooler falls quiet. Someone checks a phone for an update, then checks the battery.

The questions come quickly. How long will this last? Where can we get out of the heat? What needs to stay cold?

Those are household questions. They are also planning questions. They belong in the room long before a utility has to switch off a line.

My lights stayed on I live in the Salt Lake area. I was not affected by these shutoffs.

That matters to how I write about them. I cannot tell you what it felt like inside a home that lost power. I can ask what we should be building so fewer people have to face that uncertainty.

A utility has to manage the danger on its system. A town has to consider what happens after the electricity stops. Water, communications, cooling and medical care still matter while crews work to restore service.

The shutoff may be necessary. Leaving essential services without a workable backup does not have to be the only outcome.

The cost after the switch The monthly bill measures electricity delivered. It does not capture a missed shift, spoiled inventory or the work of finding a safe place for someone who depends on powered medical equipment.

Those costs land in different places. A business loses revenue. A household loses food. A local government has to decide where people can go and how to keep that place operating.

In June, Rocky Mountain Power identified resource centers where residents could charge devices and get relief from the heat. That is useful help during an emergency. Planning must also reach the systems people depend on before they leave home.

The question is not whether a town can keep every outlet alive. It is which services it needs most, and what it would take to keep them running.

A different cause, the same question In December 2022, gunfire damaged two substations in Moore County, North Carolina. The damage caused a widespread outage.

In southern Utah this June, the utility deliberately interrupted service to reduce fire danger.

These were different events. Protecting equipment from an attack and operating safely during fire weather require different measures. Neither event proves that every town needs the same power system.

They do give an owner or commissioner a reason to ask the same question: what can keep operating if the normal supply is unavailable?

An answer that depends entirely on restoration is incomplete. Restoration belongs to the utility. Continuity also belongs to the people responsible for the clinic, the water system and the shelter.

Who pays for keeping it ready? Consider the people who benefit when essential services stay open.

The water district needs its pumps. A clinic needs refrigeration, lighting and communications. The county needs a shelter. A grocer needs to protect food.

Their needs overlap. Their budgets may not.

That is where planning can stall. Each organization can price its own generator. Bringing several facilities into a coordinated system raises harder questions. Who owns the equipment? Who has priority? Who pays for maintenance? Who answers when it fails?

Shared benefit does not mean nobody will pay. Some owners can justify backup power on their own. Others may find a joint arrangement more practical. The point is to test the options rather than assume cooperation will happen by itself.

A town does not need everyone to buy the same equipment. It needs someone responsible for bringing the right people to the table.

Start with the well pump The Department of Energy defines a microgrid as interconnected loads and energy resources within defined electrical boundaries. It can act as a single controllable system and operate connected to, or disconnected from, the larger grid.

The useful part is what that allows a team to plan: a defined set of services with a defined source of power during an outage.

I would start with the well pump. Then the fire station, the clinic and a shelter. I would ask the people running each facility what they actually need. Starting motors, cooling a room and keeping a radio charged are different demands.

Next comes duration. How long must each service operate? What happens if fuel delivery is delayed? Which loads can be reduced without making the facility unusable?

Only then would I compare equipment and cost.

A battery has a finite amount of stored energy. A generator needs fuel and maintenance. Controls need testing. The system also needs a safe way to separate from utility lines and reconnect later.

Local generation is not permission to energize unsafe equipment. If fire threatens the local network, that danger still has to be managed. Buried lines and a microgrid are design options, not a blanket promise that a town will never lose power.

Back to that kitchen Return to the imagined kitchen. This time, the community has worked through its priorities before the shutoff.

That does not necessarily mean every home has electricity. It may mean the family knows which shelter has cooling. The water system has a tested backup. The clinic knows how long its critical equipment can run.

That is a less dramatic promise than saying a town will never go dark. It is also a more useful one.

People need to know what will work, where to go and who is responsible. The equipment has to support those answers.

Six questions before the next outage In my June post on framing and insurance, I argued for comparing the full cost before choosing a construction system.

I would apply that discipline to community power. Before buying equipment or approving a growth plan, I want six questions answered:

Which services must stay on, and for how long?

What energy or fuel is available, and what happens if replenishment is delayed?

How does the system separate from the grid, and when was that process last tested?

Which local lines and equipment must remain safe for it to operate?

Who runs the system during an outage?

Who pays to maintain it when nothing goes wrong?

The last question deserves as much attention as the first. Equipment bought once still needs someone to look after it years later.

At Ber Wilson, that is the conversation I want to have with community leaders before equipment is selected. Define the essential services. Put responsibility beside each one. Compare the options against that job.

A family waiting for the lights to return cannot solve those questions from the kitchen table. We should settle them while the plans are still on ours.

Bring your town's questions If you are a commissioner, city manager or developer, bring these six questions to Ber Wilson. We can discuss your priorities, the information available and whether a scoped power review is the right next step.

Contact Ber Wilson info@berwilson.com