Yes, everything I have read about the grid going down is in relation to the large transformers. Apparently we do not manufacture them in this country and it takes about 2 years to get them so I guess they are the most important part of the grid to protect.
Bottom line it looks like the govt is not going to do anything much to harden the grid so if and when it goes down we will all be on our own for a couple of years if not more. Some people are preparing some aren’t. I would hate to try to survive for 2 years without power. It would be miserable.
I’ve lived without electricity actually quite a lot; and not with a gigantic array of solar panels, but more simply. BUT - the rest of the world still had electricity. I could go to town and buy propane, food at the store and so on.
IMHO people need to prepare for a very different life and be ready to live very simply and without any fancy stuff that most people cannot imagine living without. Even though I have electricity now, I still live very simply - for one thing, I have very little money. And two, I’m used to it, and have few needs. But so many people will be mentally and emotionally shocked if (when...?) things they take for granted are history.
Things like shopping for whatever they want, all the time - shampoo, hair conditioner, instant and pre-prepared food, eating out, watching all the new movies, new clothes all the time, never having to mend or fix anything, watching TV, having their hair and nails done; that kind of thing. And throwing clothes in the washer and dryer...