Late in June of 2013, my neighborhood experienced a significant power outage from a vicious storm, lasting almost exactly two days for me, and longer for my neighbors. In total, over half a million customers were without power. As much of my neighborhood was buzzing with the sound of chainsaws and diesel generators, I quietly thought about my Tesla Model S, tucked neatly in its garage, away from falling trees and power lines. It had a full charge at the time of the outage. Would I make it through this? Of course, the car's named Livewire, it has spark!
As it happens, I did. There was no panic, and at no juncture, did my wife and I use her sensible Ford Focus. We had a point to prove. Just a few days before the storm, I visited a dear colleague of mine at Great River Energy. At their facility in Maple Grove, MN, which is under 10 miles from my home in Plymouth, MN, they have a windmill and solar panels tied into their ChargePoint charging station. I was told "yeah, looks like you can use it whenever you want." Most of the time, one or two Chevrolet Volts (company cars) are plugged into the two stations, but they are becoming sensible about keeping them on the 110v trickle charge and leaving a stall open. Across from this charging station is a fashionable mall, complete with a theater. I knew I'd need to take care of some errands, and I wanted to make sure my wife could take me to the airport on Monday, which is 25+ miles away. So we plugged in, with no power at home, and went to see a movie. A couple hours later, we had an extra 40 miles of range, having enjoyed a movie about four magicians. Less the ten to get home, it was still a net positive of 20 miles.
Where my wife works, there's a single 110v outlet that she can use. If the power had been out until Wednesday, as it was for some of my neighbors, we calculated that she would have been able to maintain the range on the car for her commute (while I was on my business trip), losing the usual daily vampire load.
Having a Tesla was great. we had internet and could charge our mobile devices. With a Model S, we were able to "camp out" in the garage with music, lights, and air conditioning. Our neighbors probably were able to do the same with their incessant diesel generators, but I've come to realize that owning a Tesla means I think differently about energy. Sure, I had to drive to the grocery store to get some bags of ice, but none of my food spoiled. When my parents were young, their houses had ice boxes. It's not as intelligent as a refrigerator, but it does work pretty well. You need to be the smart one on where you put everything (ice on top, food below), and you also need to probably get a thermometer, but they are quite cheap.
Power outages in the summer are different from ones in the winter. Summer outages tend to be more widespread, and not having a working furnace in the winter is scary. The good news is that you don't need to go very far to get ice, it is right out your window. Also, the vampire load on the Tesla will be a fair bit higher in the winter, and driving conditions will limit range.
One thing I have learned from this experience is that I probably need to invest in a solar panel set at some point. It is good to have contingencies, like knowing where your nearest public charging station is, but having power in every circumstance is even smarter. Owning a Tesla means having a different experience when the power utilities are down.
