Remember the power outages in California in 2019? Some were planned to stop wildfires from breaking out, and others were due to the fact that we have an aging power grid. But among all this gloom, a small Native American tribe, The Blue Lake Rancheria in Northern California, was able to keep the lights on, pumping out power while surrounded by cities that sat in darkness.

What was their secret? They created their own "microgrid." What the heck is that?

Here are five things to know:

  1. Power outages are believed to cause around $150 billion of lost productivity in the U.S. every year. It's not just that our grid is old and reaching capacity, but there are also more extreme weather events that cause damage from snowstorms and wildfires, even pandemics, that can create a limited supply of skilled electrical engineers.
  2. It's expensive to bury power lines underground to stop them from being felled by trees or even animals. But here's the thing: squirrels — yes, squirrels — cause around 10%-20% of electrical outages in the U.S. every year. Awwww, that's nuts!
  3. The solution? The microgrid, of course! Or else why are you reading this? A self-sufficient energy-creation-and-distribution system that means small communities will never be without their TV's for Friday night football ever again! Using local sources of energy, even renewables like solar — and sometimes — they even disconnect from the national grid altogether and operate completely on their own, which is called "islanding."
  4. Microgrids are full of clever advantages too. They are more efficient in their electricity transmission because it's only going short distances, reducing energy loss, costs and even CO2 emissions. And it can step in for as little as a few minutes or even weeks as a replacement for the national grid. They can also pump back excess electricity, too — just like solar panel owners do.
  5. As their name implies, microgrids can be small enough for just your home, or a hospital or even a whole university. A major part of their attraction is that the national grid is exposed to online threats or attacks by foreign powers, which explains why the Department Of Defense accounts for 36% of all operating microgrids in the U.S. today. Meaning any attack on the national grid would allow government bases to still keep operating — all on their own steam, so to speak.

California already has plans to create more of these extremely powerful systems, but the secret to mending our reliance on an aging power grid is to ensure that the future of energy transmission and creation isn't macro but micro!