ever experienced something annoying due to a power outage?
By Stephan
@stk40m (1118)
Koeln, Germany
March 1, 2013 4:05pm CST
the last couple of years we had several power outages. Whenever such a thing occurs one notices all the stuff that depends on electricity and suddendly ceases to work: refrigerators, lamps, telephones, you name it. But have you ever experienced something really annoying due to a power outage? It almost happened to me while I was programming. Just a few minutes before the outage I had saved hours of typing work and I was lucky I had only added a few lines since then. Could have turned out worse.
3 people like this
9 responses
@Angelpink (4034)
• Philippines
2 Mar 13
It happened to me when i write something and need to submit it for that certain hour . I am in the rush of finishing it , catching the deadline , 3 more lines to go and done suddenly the power was off ! I was able to yell ! My fault i didn't save it earlier. My !! How can i recollect those ideas again. Power companies should give an advisory so customers will be aware and prepares for it. A lesson i should be saving my work though it was not yet done.
1 person likes this
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
2 Mar 13
yes, saving documents regularly is very important. I also forget to do that betimes, it even happened that I deleted text accidentally without the need for a power outage 
It's just that power outages are usually rare and we become a bit negligent to make backups. Good idea about companies giving advisory
in some cases power outages may be predictable.
It's just that power outages are usually rare and we become a bit negligent to make backups. Good idea about companies giving advisory in some cases power outages may be predictable.
@MissBlack (356)
• United States
2 Mar 13
I did. when world-famous Hurricane Sandy came through New Jersey and knocked just about all the lights out everywhere. I just went grocery shopping the day before and lost about $150 worth of food. I was so upset because storms come through all the time and if our lights go out,it would only be for a few hours. This time, my lights were off for three weeks. It was horrible! I never realized how important power is until it goes out!
1 person likes this
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
2 Mar 13
THREE WEEKS ?!! wow, I mean, omg, that's almost unimaginable. The longest outage over here I'm aware of was about three hours and I thought that was long. I see that food is the main concern. Our basic needs depend so much on the availability of the electric current. Perhaps power lines should be modernized to become storm proof, or better Hurricane proof I should say. Maybe they should put the lines below the ground if that's possible
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
2 Mar 13
The longest I've lived without electricity is 16 days. There was an ice storm where I live and I happened to be living in a rural community at that time. So not only did I have no electricity, I also had no running water because my house was on a well and septic system... and no electricity means no water being pumped and no toilets flushing and such. It was the hardest thing I've ever done... especially because I had two young children at that time. Just keeping them bathed, hair washed, fed and clothing washed took up the entire day... along with going to get drinking water from a neighbor's spring on an adjoining property and trying to keep food from spoiling because there were no stores open to buy anything, no gas stations pumping gas to drive anywhere and no ATMs to get cash if you didn't happen to have any on hand. Living through that experience made me realize how much we take for granted every single day. I'd never want to have to do it again, that's for sure.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
3 Mar 13
Yes, it's really hard in the winter...my daughters went to sleep at night in their snowsuits, mittens, boots and everything because it was just too cold. Also, because it was dark so very early, they would literally eat dinner and then ask to go to bed because it was already black outside, no tv to watch, etc. So they would just sleep until it was light again. It was DEFINITELY a very long 16 days.
@marguicha (223720)
• Chile
2 Mar 13
Power outage is more or less annoying depending on the amount of time you are out of electricity. It annoys me to have no lights for a short time but it is outrageous if it is a long time. When we had the last big earthquake, our city had no electricity for over 3 days. I had to throw away all the seafood and fish I had frozen although it did not seem it was unfit to eat. But I did not want to take any risks.
1 person likes this
@Raine38 (12391)
• United States
1 Mar 13
I hate unexpected an unannounced power interruptions. Even though we have a generator, we have to make sure we have enough gas for it. And since it is not expected, lots of food and stuff in the fridge are on the verge of going bad. Not to mention that there are some stuff on the computer that I wouldn't be able to finish, and the Internet will be also down so communication to my folks back in Manila is also put to a halt.
1 person likes this
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
2 Mar 13
yes, electricity is essential for storing perishable foods in fridges. That's also what I was worried about when we had power outages. They only lasted a few hours but it makes you start to worry about things. Communication without electricity, yeah, nowadays that's almost impossible!
@LoKoMoMe (511)
• Belize
2 Mar 13
it really annoys that sometimes experiencing power outage especially you are doing something then all of your efforts will gone fast. its happen to me when my ipod syncing from itunes. I excite when syncing is almost finish but im shocked when the power cuts out, and the really really annoys me is that after the power outage my ipod is put in restore mode so I need to format it and replace a newer version, so annoying.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
2 Mar 13
In the almost three years living in Puerto Rico we have experienced many power outages. It is very annoying especially if you are in the middle of watching your favorite show and then its gone. Or also on those days when it is so hot and now the fans are off and you can't get comfortable. Due to all this annoying outages we brought a generator so now when the power goes out we still have power. @stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
2 Mar 13
yeah, that's another extreme weather condition where we desperately need electricity: when it's hot we need fans to cool the air and fridges to store our food. One time when I turned on a lamp the lamp glew for just a second and then it went black. So I thought the bulb was burned through but it turned out to be a power outage. Almost thought I was responsible
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
3 Mar 13
I had experienced so much annoying incidents due to these power outage. Mostly, our computers at the office suffered so much that some became out of order. Most of us were interrupted during encoding which will be retyped when the power came back. Now, power outages comes back. In fact last week, I was so annoyed because I have to begin encoding again what I already finished because it was not saved.
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
3 Mar 13
if power outages occur often and even destroy electric devices it may be helpful to use rechargable batteries or stand-by units. My laptop for example has a rechargable battery and if there's a power outage the battery will immediately pitch in so the computer is not shut down. However, usually I don't have the battery inside the laptop to save energy (battery gets charged all the time). Some software programs make automatic security backups every so and so minutes. I believe Open Office does that, too.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
2 Mar 13
of course, when we lose power here. i also lose money. As my internet cafe cant be open without power. So its a double loss for me when the power goes out.
