Why would the power fail?
The most common causes are small-scale. A broken cable for excavation, for example.
There are more consequences when a high voltage line fails, for example because an aircraft has flown into it. Which has occurred a few times in the recent past.
A major solar storm would have far greater consequences. A massive burst of geomagnetic particles from the sun could destroy all high-voltage transformers across much of Europe or elsewhere. Each is as large as a small house and weighs 227 tonnes. Replacement could take a year or more.
Experts estimate the likelihood that such a solar superstorm will break out within 10 years at 6 to 7%. So it's not a big risk, but the chances of you winning the state lottery's top prize are smaller. And it's happened before, in 1859 and 1921. Electricity was hardly available at the time, so the damage was relatively small. It may still be 500 years before another storm like this bursts, but it can also happen next week.
When the power fails, pumps stop too. You cannot buy fuel, or pay by card at the supermarket—which will close anyway because its lights and tills no longer work.
You will want to know what is happening around you. Do you have a battery-powered radio? A flashlight that does not need fresh batteries?
“Ha!” you tell me. “Nothing can happen to me. I have solar panels on my roof.”
It's very good of you, but it won't help you when the power goes out. Turn off the main switch in the meter cabinet. See?
The electronics that allow those panels to supply electricity to the grid run on… electricity. Electricity from the socket, rather than electricity generated by the panels.
You should have this adapted by a specialist because this is a rather complicated job.
If you have prepared with a few weeks’ food, a way to obtain drinking water and a wood-burning stove with a supply of firewood, there is little to worry about. You will survive.
The effects of an EMP, however, would be so severe that we would be thrown straight back to the middle of the 19th century. An EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, is produced when some sinister regime detonates a nuclear bomb high above Europe. Because there is no dust, there is no risk of fallout. That is the good news. The bad news is that an EMP destroys all electrical and electronic circuits, including modern car alternators and even your pocket calculator.
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