On Saturday, about 15 minutes after noon, everything in my home shut off.

Our power was knocked out due too a wicked wind storm that we were having.

However, this is unsurprising, as the number of power outages we have each year is rather ridiculous.

The Frustrations with our Energy Company

The loss of power happens more times than I can count. Since moving here at the beginning of 2020, I estimate that we have lost power ~20 times, averaging 4-6 hours of no power each time.

Luckily, we invested in purchasing a Generac portable generator last year. It does it's job, but it is not a whole-home generator, so running generator cords and extension cords through the house is a pain.

However annoying losing power is, the real frustration is with our energy company.

Our energy company has a monopoly in the area's of Wisconsin that I live. If you know anything about Wisconsin, then you probably know which energy company I am referring too.

Recently, during power outages, the number of updates they provide, and the timeliness of getting things restored, have been slacking.

In regards to this past weekends power outage, it was out for 26 hours.

Of those 26 hours, we have received no updates until the 22 hour mark.

Luckily, we had the generator, so we could power our Fridge/Freezer, plug in a portable heater, and some lights.

But, to have 22 hours without a single update is downright frustrating. To make matters worse, people in our area tried calling the company. They were met with extremely long hold times, and a hang up after a few hours.

I'm not upset with losing power

I'm upset with the lack of responses and updates provided during this whole situation.

I am fortunate enough that the only things I needed to worry about were making sure the fridge/freezer were powered, and that we had some heat in our home.

But, others, were not so fortunate. Some had animals that required heat (reptiles), others had medical supplies that needed to stay refrigerated, some even relied on electricity to power medical services in their home.

Yes, understandably, if these things are that important, then you should at least have a backup for these situations. I understand that.

But, it still isn't right that the company that provides an essential service is refusing to provide any updates, whatsoever.

Going forward

Honestly, there is nothing we can do. This company is the only company that provides power to our area, and going solar is definitely not something within my budget!

I want to look into getting something that would make connecting a portable generator to a home a bit easier, but that may still be outside of any budget I have set aside for home repairs/renovations.