So what’s the plan if the power goes out?

A few years back, the wife and I returned home to the desert about 1 am after a long summer day at Disneyland. I didn’t notice the street of our Palm Desert condo was darker as I drove in, probably as I was exhausted from a day of large mice and pirates, but, once I pulled in the driveway and noticed the complex’s lights were out, it began to set in. The power was out and it was still 105 degrees outside.

We rushed into the house to check on our cats, who were okay as the inside temp of the condo was in the mid 80s, so the power likely hadn’t been out long and it would surely be back on soon, right? And a few minutes later it did! – for about 30 seconds. It wouldn’t come on again for two more days.

We made it through that first night as the heat quickly increased to unbearable levels. It was a sleepless, sweaty night spent debating whether or not we should go elsewhere and, once the sun began to rise, knowing that things had the potential to get so much worse very quickly, we found a nearby motel willing to take in our three cats and who even offered up a discounted room rate due to the power outage. We survived – and with a continental breakfast as a bonus!

I bring this up now because, as temperatures begin to heat up above triple digits in the Coachella Valley, I worry, a lot, about what the plan would be should it happen again.

Hotels and motels have been shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic. My wife and I don’t have families in the Coachella Valley. We do have friends, but crashing at someone else’s pad these days is asking a lot, as they have no idea if those they let in recently caught the virus – even if they’re now showing symptoms. And just the thought of me unknowingly transmitting the coronavirus to others doesn’t sit very well with me.

The Imperial Irrigation District, who I am lucky to have now as I have since moved from Palm Desert to La Quinta, recently told KESQ that they’ve made the necessary changes “to keep customers with power during the coronavirus crisis.” Which sounds great! But also is not guaranteed, so I just want to put this out there, what’s the plan if it does? And what’s the plan if a blackout hits an especially large number of people? Is there are plan for that?  Sure seems like there should be.

Now, I know that there are a lot of things to worry about these days (and this isn’t even the most important electricity-related issue), but this really seems like something our leaders in the Coachella Valley should be planning for and communicating with us, as we head into non-stop air-conditioning season.

Because it really seems to make more sense to have a plan in place now, rather than trying to scramble to figure one out on a 105 degree night after the power goes out.