630,000 EVs Now Double as Emergency Power During Blackouts

Keith McGrew powered his entire West Monroe, Louisiana home with his Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck during a five-day blackout, even running his oven to satisfy a pizza craving while his neighbors scrambled for generator gas.

As ice, snow, and bitter cold stressed America's power grid in recent weeks, electric vehicles transformed from simple transportation into 6,000-pound backup batteries. McGrew was one of thousands of EV owners who kept their lights on, heaters running, and refrigerators humming while the grid went dark.

The numbers tell a remarkable story. About 630,000 electric cars and trucks in the US now have bidirectional charging, meaning they can send power back to homes during emergencies. One in five EVs purchased in the past quarter included this vehicle-to-home capability, and analysts say it will soon become standard.

John Halkias in North Canton, Ohio stayed calm as 18 inches of snow buried his home. His fully charged 2024 Lightning kept his refrigerator, bedroom heaters, and even his electric dog fence running. "I would say we could keep things going for a minimum of five to seven days with the truck alone," he said.

Ford's automatic backup systems detected outages and switched power seamlessly about four times per year on average. Last week, as storms battered different regions, usage jumped to four times normal levels.

Even simpler systems proved valuable. Kim Mestre in Alexandria, Virginia had her priorities straight during last week's outage: use her 2025 Hyundai Ioniq to grind coffee beans and boil water. "Charge my phone and give me coffee, that's all I really need in life," she said.

The Ripple Effect

Major automakers are racing to add this feature. Every General Motors vehicle can now power a home, with BMW, Tesla, and Rivian promising the same for upcoming models. About 14 of 70 EV models currently available offer bidirectional charging, but that number is climbing fast.

Grid operators are watching closely. They're drawing up plans to tap millions of EVs during peak demand, essentially creating mobile power plants that strengthen the grid during extreme weather and data center strain.

Back in rural Louisiana, McGrew's Lightning remains one of the only EVs around. After watching his boss's diesel generator run dry on day five of the outage, McGrew offered to wire his truck to his boss's house. "I'm feeling smarter every day," he said.

The power to keep life running now sits in driveways across America, ready for the next storm.