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Are you prepared for when the power goes out? To prevent massive wildfires in drought-prone, high-wind areas, electrical companies have begun preemptively shutting off electricity. These planned shutdowns are called public safety power shutoffs, , and they're increasingly common. So far this year, we've seen them in , and .

Unlike regular power failures, which on average last only while a piece of broken equipment is repaired, a PSPS lasts until weather conditions improve, . And these shutoffs come at a steep price. In 2010 alone, they cost California over . A 2019 analysis of shutoffs in Placer County, California, found that they harmed .

a who studies how people pay for things, including during emergencies. As I point out in "," many people have abandoned paper money and switched to electronic payments such as credit cards and mobile apps. This can become a big problem during an emergency, since these systems need electricity to operate. The switch to electronic payments is making the world less resilient in the face of increasing numbers of major natural disasters.

So if a public safety power shutoff strikes and you don't have any cash, you may be doubly vulnerable. On the other hand, keeping cash can protect you—and not just you and your family, but also local businesses and your community. After all, keeping the economy moving during shutoffs reduces the financial damage they cause.

Why do they keep turning off the power, anyway?

It's all about risk.

The world has experienced a number of very destructive wildfires recently. In 2025, large parts of Los Angeles burned to the ground, with or damaged. In 2023, killed over 100 people. Massive wildfires have also occurred recently in , and .

Governments, people whose houses burned and insurance companies are all looking for someone to blame and pay for the damage. Climate change, which is and grass, is setting the conditions. Since Mother Nature cannot be sued, utilities make handy scapegoats with deep pockets. Electrical utilities are sued because their , and often start blazes.

So to prevent lawsuits as well as fires, power companies are increasingly turning off the power when the conditions are ripe for a catastrophic blaze. There's no uniform set of standards for when to impose a shutdown, but in general, power companies do it when . For example, a PSPS is triggered in Hawaii if there's a drought, wind gusts are over 45 miles per hour and .

Power shutoffs are a relatively new idea. They were proposed in California in 2008 and .

Since then, power companies across the to . Shutoff plans also stretch from southern border states such as to northern border states such as and .

Shutting off the power is a huge problem, since it causes massive disruption to communities. People depend on power to run medical equipment, work and keep communities safe. Even people with a desperate need for electricity, , are not immune to a safety shutoff.

How to prepare for a PSPS

As the world warms, the chance of being caught in a preemptive power shutoff increases. What can you do to minimize the impact?

Having solar panels : Utilities shut off customers with solar panels to block those panels from pushing power onto the grid, since the whole goal is to shut off the grid. The only way for you to still have power is to buy a battery storage system and a transfer switch, which allows you to take your system . But this is very expensive.

Getting a portable generator is only a partial solution for a multiday shutoff, since on a single tank of gas. Plus, generators run very hot, which creates .

Another way to minimize the impact of both a power shutoff and a wildfire is to create a small , or "go bag." Creating one is relatively inexpensive. It should contain key items such as water, your medicines, some shelf-stable food—and importantly, some cash. Even some to .

It's also important to use paper money before a shutoff happens. I have all too frequently seen gas station attendants, supermarket checkout clerks and restaurant servers have no idea how to handle cash.

Recently at my local supermarket, for example, I paid with a $20 bill. The cashier had to ask another employee which kinds of coins to use to make change. If people don't know how to handle cash during normal times, it ceases to be useful during emergencies.

As the world warms, public safety power shutoffs will occur more frequently. The shutoffs clearly highlight the trade-off between economic and social disruption versus preventing dangerous wildfires. These shutoffs show there are no easy solutions—only hard choices.

There are a few sensible and easy steps to take to reduce the impact of these shutoffs. One is to understand that during one of the very moments you might really need to spend money, modern payment systems fail. Holding and frequently using old-fashioned cash is a simple and low-cost way to protect yourself and your family.

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