Many of us who recently lost power did so for days. Whether power was lost at home or in an office setting, we were reminded just how powerless we are when we confronted with Mother Nature’s wrath.  While most of us lost the ability to carry on with our daily routines, to work without interruption and to relax in general, people who suffer from disabilities and health conditions were really left in the dark.  Complicated by Covid-19, this particular power outage resulted in mass food spoilage, severe appliance damage and financial loss. 

Frankly, I thought I was prepared and protected to some degree when I had purchased several Universal Power Supply units for my home.  For anyone who does not use computers as much as I do, the device is also known as an UPS device.  These devices maintain power for a period of time once your home loses electricity.  However, they can only run for so long before they shut down and the devices that are connected to them become inoperable.  They do not work miracles, but they help under otherwise, normal circumstances. 

So, I came to the realization that my best possible solution is to have a generator, with hurricane season having only just begun, rather than be left at the mercy of utility companies, who fail to respond in a timely fashion. I am not referring to the work crews!!  Generators are not cheap and like any other source of power, they need to be hooked up properly and far enough away from one’s home, not to mention that one has to constantly refill the generator with gas to keep it going.  In better times, just abandoning the house and staying at a hotel would have been costly but still an easy and obvious solution, as losing power is stressful in and of itself.   However, with Covid-19 around it was not something that I wanted to chance. 

I know that there has to be a better way to handle this situation, if it should happen again, and it is very likely that it will.  Please, if anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them…..