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I hate to be the bearer of dissonance but we have blackout drills once or twice a year in the power industry. Not just a couple of small local utilities - everybody gets involved.

As for what the government should do, I recommend getting the heck out of the way so that the utilities can restore what’s left of their power systems and start rebuilding what is damaged.

There are times when I think the Government goes out of it’s way to ‘get in the way’. Sometimes it for ‘just because we can’ and other times it is to set a precedent so that the ‘next time’ they can make it worse if necessary.

“As for what the government should do, I recommend getting the heck out of the way so that the utilities can restore what’s left of their power systems and start rebuilding what is damaged.”

When power is out, power companies can’t do anything about hospitals and food and water going away. This drill is composed of all those segments that would be in great difficulty and how various responders would function in those areas. This drill is going to show that millions of people are going to die as vital life and death provisions can’t be “fixed”.

When Ike came through here, our regional hospital should have been fine because they have generator backup. Well, the generator didn’t come on and those who could fix it were home with their families and couldn’t be contacted because the only phones working were old time phones that plug directly into the wall. Critical patients had to be driven to San Antonio, a five hour trip. Those left were in hospital rooms with no light and it was hot. No surgeries could be performed.

If power is off over the country for two weeks, there is no place to transport patients to a working hospital because none will have power. Neither will hospitals get medical supplies. People on life support will die. Patients and every person who takes important medicine will also die.

If these drills lead to anything that can help this type emergency situation, they are worthwhile.