FEMA internal report: US power grid may not be able to handle a solar storm

08/04/2022 / By Belle Carter

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) internal report documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that the U.S. power grid may not be able to handle a solar storm.

The occurrence of a solar flare that can wipe out the power grid for about a decade is not far from possible due to the plethora of advanced technology inventions that impact space weather.

Moreover, a large portion of the U.S. power grid still relies on the 1960s and 70s technology. According to the Department of Energy, 70 percent of the transmission lines are more than 30 years old and the average age of large power transformers, which handle 90 percent of electricity flow across America, is more than 45 years.

“This caused outages between 2015 and 2020 that averaged 9,656 annually, more than double the average of 4,609 during the previous six-year period,” the OffGrid Survival website said in one of its blogs.

In 1859, the world was hit by a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) solar flare, just as the world started to depend on electricity. It was called the Carrington Event.

That CME was really intense that it could be seen with the naked eye and massively damaged telegraph systems globally.

The declassified FEMA document stated: “A repeat of the Carrington Event could be catastrophic, but FEMA can maintain some measure of command, control and communications during and after the event with existing capabilities.”

However, analysts sincerely doubt that the federal agency would be able to easily manage and control the situation. Scientists at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) say that a direct CME hit would have a great impact on our critical infrastructures and could cost about two trillion dollars in damage in its first year.

Even the same 36-page FEMA report said full recovery could take up to 10 years and that even smaller-scale hits “could cause large-scale power grid collapse.”

The paper further alerted that internet, cable TV, telephone and cell services would all shut down.

“As these towers lose power, large portions of the cellular network will begin to fail. Urban and populated suburban areas are more likely to have cell towers with generator backup with fuel reserves ranging from one to seven days, depending on location and equipment owner,” the report stated.

Power grids rely on extra-high voltage (EHV) custom-built transformers for power transmission. In case an extreme geomagnetic storm hits, the 350 available U.S. EHV transformers will exceed levels where the transformer is at risk of irreparable damage.

“These multi-ton apparatus generally cannot be repaired in the field, and if damaged in this manner, they need to be replaced with new units, which have manufacture lead times of 12 months or more,” OffGrid Survival pointed out.

Survival tips during long-term power grid stoppage

Whether FEMA admits it or not, there is a great possibility that its emergency contingency plans would fail. The best thing people could do is to prepare. (Related: Tips to prepare for a nationwide power grid failure.)

In a separate post, OffGrid Survival suggested that the first step is to realize that the government is not much of a help during a long-term disaster.

Then, people must stock food and water, learn skills to protect themselves and their families from the chaos and get as far away from highly populated urban areas .

Back-up ammunition may also be an important self-defense measure in SHTF events. An extra power source that can buy you some time to pack up and get ready to leave is also important.

Purchasing a rural bug-out property or a camper van with solar panels can also be a good investment and prepping measure.

Visit Preparedness.news for more articles about preparing for nationwide power outages.

Watch the below video that talks about how horrifying the Carrington Event was.

This video is from the Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.