We had a great session in May in collaboration with MPC Ready where we explored lessons learned from the storms (and power outages) of the past winter. As we take steps to meet Menlo Park’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) goals through increased electrification of our homes, we wanted to explore creative, resourceful, and resilient ways to get our needs met – as a household and as a community – for times when the grid is unavailable.
(Of course, we also need to shore up the grid’s resilience but that’s a conversation for another day!)
We heard from community members about the challenges they faced due to multiple power outages, shared stories and strategies for resilience, and heard from city officials about the behind-the-scenes work they did during a very challenging time.
Leaning into support of neighbors and friends is a key resilience strategy and is the cornerstone of the work that MPC Ready is doing. If you’d like to get involved, please consider being a block coordinator and reach out to Lynne Bramlett at contact@mpcready.org for more details. At the very least, we encourage you to get to know your neighbors so you can support each other when the unexpected happens.
Another strategy is to ensure you have back-up power solutions for your home. Finally, please check out Cameron Rebosio’s writeup of the event in The Almanac.