Social unrest thoughts...part three: "prepping for the election"

While I think that rural areas won't have the issue as much as urban areas, it doesn't take much to interrupt the steady flow and delivery of electrical power...a few hours by a few people each with a chainsaw could cause cause havoc. A few people willing to poke some holes in the casings of large large transformers to let out the coolant oil ,or take down a couple of steel towers for high tension supply lines can do long term damage..More importantly, it takes even less effort to cause enough fear among the utility workers that they will refuse to repair any damage unless guarded by police or other security.  

There are people willing to do that sort of damage to cause mayhem and panic and add to the civil unrest. 

Plan accordingly.....

Not many city services will work without electricity...In a city, will you have water? If in a high rise, can you get up and down to your apartment? Cool or heat that apartment? 

If in the 'Burbs or in a small town or a rural location...Do you have a method of powering your home (or at least the most important portions of it)? Generators or solar? Can you live without electricity if not? DO you need electrical power to run your heating system? 

Refrigerators? Do you have an electric stove (if so, you might wanna plan an alternate means of cooking).  Can you live without power? Do you need refrigeration to keep your medication from spoiling? Do you meed power to make your well work? CAN YOU EVEN OPEN YOUR GARAGE WITHOUT POWER (Most can, but not all).  How much of your life needs electricity? Can you live without it? 

If you have a generator.....do you have fuel for it? How much? For how long can you deal without utility power Have you done a realistic assessment of how much you will need to run a standby generator to deal with the minimum time you will need power? (Hint: It is likely more than you realize.. say 4 hours a day, minimum, times say 2 gallons an hour, for say 2 weeks....do you have a hundred (plus) gallons stored?)...If you have a generator powered by natural gas, remember that, while the gas lines are underground and less vulnerable to mischief, the valving is often above ground, and the pumping stations are also easily accessible (and vulnerable) to someone determined to do them harm....Don't plan for there being uninterrupted natural gas if someone should decide to mess with that service as well. 

Can you heat your home if there are disruptions to the piped gas supply?? (even if you do have electricity via a generator and fuel for it).

If you do have a generator, have you serviced it recently? Gas is only one part of running a generator....oil fuel and air filters, possibly oil filters...And oil. Have you enough oil to change it after the recommended runtime? Some portable generators require an oil change after as little as 50 hours....Do you have a spare spark plug? If a portable, do you have a means of securing the generator OUTSIDE your home when it is running? (they've been known to walk off, so have a chain or cable to keep it in your possession). 

If you live on propane, it might be a god idea to have your tank filled just before the election as well. Having a full tank of propane just before the winter is a good idea anyway, but especially THIS winter, what with the election and all. Depending on where you live, it may be that the propane delivery trucks may not leave the yard for a week or 3 due to protests.