When the Lights Go Out

When the lights went out over all of Spain and Portugal, it exposed exactly how fragile our system is. We live 100% dependent on the free flow of electrons. A guy in Spain wrote a thread on how it immediately caused runs on food and fuel. I’d thought we’d go over some issues we saw and develop plans.

Let’s begin with his claim that cash was worthless. That’s not entirely true. He admitted that he only had 50 and 100 Euro notes and that stores were perfectly willing to take them, they just couldn’t give him change. That’s not worthless. Modern cash registers don’t open unless there is electricity. They do have key locks for opening them in emergencies, but thieves have been hitting stores with keys and stealing the cash, so most stores in western nations have removed the keyway. No power, no change. Our solution to this is carry $20 bills (or euros). They infinitely more spendable for small purchases and I’m not as upset about not getting change from them. With inflation, they’re the new fives anyway.

This same principle applies to gold and silver. A one ounce gold piece is worth $3300 today…not exactly something I would hand over for bread, milk, or gas. AN ounce of silver is around $33…that’s a lot more spendable than gold. Buy half ounce coins and smaller “leaf” gold if you are into buying precious metals like me. Also, check out Goldbacks, which are becoming more and more accepted in the US (particularly in the West). I accept silver and Goldbacks as payment for books, consulting, and classes.

There was an immediate run on stores, because in Western Society, food is so readily accessible at stores that the average urban dweller doesn’t have more than 24-48 hours worth of food. It’s just easier to run to the store, and modern western societies believe “it can’t happen here”. Well, it can. Now, I’m just addressing food, if you can’t keep a supply of toilet paper to keep yourself clean for more than 2 days, nothing I am going to say can help you. As far as food recommendations, I stand by my comments in my first book – have at least a 14 day supply of food on hand that doesn’t require refrigeration. Canned meats might not be your favorite, but it can get you through. Beyond that, store some portable food.

Reminder: You can never store enough water. As soon as the power goes, so do the backflow preventer systems in municipal water systems. In other words, even if you have water coming from the tap, you need to purify it first. Boiling remains the best method. Have multiple methods.

Transist is the next area. You won’t be able to get gas, trains & buses will stop. As I have said several times, the best preparedness thing you can do is learn to move long distances by foot, carrying a load. I know, it seems simple, but you’d be surprised how many “preppers” can’t walk to the back of our camp during class. I did 4 miles today. Get out and practice moving.

Cell phones will go down or be overwhelmed almost immediately. Once again, I’ll say it. Get a radio, get it programmed, and develop a radio communications plan for you and your people. Have a policy that after any power outage, everyone is to check at say 30 minutes (or whatever you choose) after the hour. Get in the habit of carrying at least a handheld radio. I have a 50 watt vehicle radio in every vehicle we own and I’m installing them in all the camp vehicles. Everyone here is to carry a radio on a certain channel for safety reasons (we have lots of dangerous wildlife). Get trained and start carrying things with you.

Have a get home bag stocked and in your car (see Baseline Training Manual). If you wear “business” clothes, have a change of clothes and shoes in the car. Have extra water and food in the car.

We live in a society that can be completely crippled by a power outage and world tension keep going up. It would do you well to start thinking about this now.

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