(Zero Hedge)—A “bombogenesis,” commonly known as a “bomb cyclone,” pounded the Pacific Northwest earlier this week with destructive winds and torrential rain. At higher altitudes, heavy snow and strong winds unleashed blizzards. This once-in-a-decade storm caused widespread power outages across the Seattle metropolitan area, leaving electric vehicle owners in a panic.
At the peak of widespread outages, more than 600,000 customers across Washington State lost power due to the powerful storm; most outages were in King County and Snohomish County.
The ongoing power outage map for the Eastside of Seattle is just brutal. 🙏 https://t.co/AmO7NcE6Pn pic.twitter.com/9V9eX9X0p9
— Steven Sinofsky (@stevesi) November 22, 2024
GeekWire reports that in the last several days, EV drivers who lost power at their homes flooded public EV charging networks across the metro area.
“We’ve seen some chargers that are almost never used that are fully being used,” FlexCharging CEO Brian Grunkemeyer told the tech media outlet. The startup provides charging software services for EV charging operators, including Electrify America.
Grunkemeyer provided a screenshot showing that Electrify America stations on Wednesday were all full, and long lines continued into Thursday.
A video shared on X showed the panic…
Byproduct of the wind storm’s power outages: Nick Abrams said “dozens of Teslas” were lined up trying to get a charge in the Northgate parking lot tonight. 🔌 #WAwx pic.twitter.com/XACClNY0vG
— Shannon O'Donnell (@ShannonODKOMO) November 21, 2024
The lesson for EV drivers in an apocalyptic situation is very clear: have a full-house natural gas or diesel-powered generator system or a lightweight 8kW portable generator with 220V capability.
I was able to get gas for my Honda with no problem.
Good. Couldn’t happen to a better bunch of people. And still they won’t learn and somehow the storm will be Trumps fault.
I need a 35 mile extension cord.
Can’t say they weren’t warned. My 4×4 diesel pickup holds 85 gallons, good for a 1700 mi range without a refill. Suck it up, Buttercup!
Like the writer Tyler Durden says: get a portable 240 volt generator. The only difference is that you keep your pollution in your own yard instead of dumping it in someone else’s yard.
Any gas powered portable generator will charge EV. Small cheap generators might take a couple days to charge EV. It’s going to take a lot of gasoline to fully charge a drained EV. 20 Gallons or more.
I got a 4 cylinder mobile generator for $500 and it gets 28 mpg.
Oh dear, what’s a high-tech metro dude to do?