Oh, I'm sure the class of Houstonians that does Team Meetings at the very least have backup generators that pop on automatically when the power goes out.  The problem is of course the same as in the 3rd World, it's the poor folks who have the least reliable power who also can't afford backup generatorrs or wiring their EV into the home circuit.

Duncan's timeline is Global, not just the professional class of the FSoA.  What wll probably be sorta fixed in a week or 2 in Houston (until next time) is a daily fact of life in Venezurla, South Africa, Croatia etc etc etc.  Puerto Rico is a good case study of what is happening in most of the world outside the FSoA and major western European economies.

https://www.wsj.com/story/why-puerto-ricos-power-grid-keeps-failing-b375500f

However, the very fact that even here in the land of good and plenty anybody who wants reliable power has to set up their own backup systems demonstrates the collapse is well underway.  Back in the 70s-00s, few people had home generators unless they lived totally out in the boonies.  Nowadays you can't trust the power even in big shities like Houston or LA on a hot day.  Throw in a hurricane, wildfire, atmospheric river or ice storm and you can be without ice for weeks.  My sister didn't have power for almost a month after an ice storm a few years back.  Springfield is a decent size small metro with the regional medical center.  Joplin right down the I-44 took months after it got flattened by an F-5 Tornado that ran smack thru the middle of town.  Then of course there was Katrina...

It's also not getting better, it's getting worse, and the Braniacs building AI Data Centers are pouring gasoline on the fire.  I'm sure you will be fine though with your EV hooked to the McMansion, PV panels on the roof and a 10K Watt Generac that switches on seconds after the voltage drops passing through the meter.  You probably won't even notice the lights flicker.

By 2030 with the current trajectory and plans to add load for home heating, more EVs aand AI, we'll be lucky if the lights stay on as much as they do in Caracas today.

RE