> And your gasoline pump works perfectly fine without power?
Most decent emergency / contingency plans will have the fire department, police or whatever local group show up at one or two designated gas stations to provide power, or require these stations to have on-site emergency power.
As someone who has actually lived through multiple major catastrophes where fuel couldn't get delivered for days and electricity was out for days, when the pumps stop working there is no gas. Don't assume the gasoline the police and fire department have will be there for you. It's there for the first responders. They don't have infinite supply. Their supply is extra expensive to handle compared to when things were working. You've now got many thousands of families all trying to get to the two or three operating fuel stations...trust me they're not open to the public! When you're out of gas, you're out of gas.
Meanwhile, those with solar panels not reliant on grid-tie, they can continue to charge their vehicles.
If it was that easy, Ukraine would have already brought Russia to its knees.
Because the Russian government is still telling themselves they can win and don't even bother trying to negotiate with Ukraine but instead the USA, this must not be the case.
> Most decent emergency / contingency plans will have the fire department, police or whatever local group show up at one or two designated gas stations to provide power, or require these stations to have on-site emergency power.
while traveling i got caught up in this. no restaurants, no credit cards working, no grocery stores, no cell connection, no navigation with phone, no gas station. the goddam list goes on. fortunately this was less than 16 hours.
As a local, it was actually rather fun. And my kid was amazed. For a traveler it must have sucked, though (and also for some people with special needs, and in places where it's actually common, etc.).
The only place I've been where that might happen is rural mountainous Mexico where the "gas station" is a huachicolero funneling fuel into your car from a plastic water bottle next to a construction paper sign with "GAS" scribbled on it.
Everywhere else, gas stations aren't open if there's no power because nothing works, not even the cash register.
But I'm starting to see the uni freshman libertarian vibes here having been there once myself.
How many shops will be open without power? No till, no light, no refrigerator... not sure how much will help you having cash, beyond a couple of very basic needs - I can't even tell which, nor can you, it's gonna be an adventure either way.
Bread needs power to get made, and with no electricity the gas pumps that no longer work are not filling up any delivery trucks either.
Fortunately PV and wind and local batteries are getting deployed everywhere fast and electric trucks are starting to become a thing. Some places might even have enough for basic logistics in a war that cuts out their oil supply like wars tend to because they're obvious weak points.
> If you used cash as a reasonable person you would not even notice that cards aren't working.
lol. i see. gas stations were closed since pumps were out. similar story with other facilities. luckily, gas station snack shops accepted cash, so buying some water/snacks was possible.
cash is of no use if facilities are not open. now that everything has been spelled out, i'm sure you are able to comprehend ;)
Most decent emergency / contingency plans will have the fire department, police or whatever local group show up at one or two designated gas stations to provide power, or require these stations to have on-site emergency power.