Welcome to the Skeptical Investor Newsletter. A frank, hopefully insightful, dive into real estate and financial markets. From one real estate investor to another.

This week, we’re talkin’ a trecherous winter storm story! And I look at the problems with the US electrical grid during extreme weather events.

(excuse the likley typos, I’m hammering this out before I get back to winterizing the house).

Let’s get into it.

Yesterday I awoke, like any slightly lazy Sunday.

I hopped out of bed. Turned up the heat to 68 (I love a chilly 58° house for sleepy times), turned the hot water kettle on for coffee, brushed my teeth, and hopped in my shower to suffer in the ice-cold water for 2 minutes.

Yes, I love a good ice-cold shower right in the AM a la Wim Hof. A bracing way to jumpstart the day. I highly recommend.

But today, maybe it wasn’t the most fun.

I towled off and was met with no heat, no hot water and a puppy that was curled up, and did not want to get out of bed.

Shit, the power was off. Temp in the house was 45.

So I got dressed and popped outside to investigate.

Sounded like a few neighbors were getting an early start to clearing the little snow we got overnight. But that wasn’t it. It was their generators cranking; the whole neighborhood was out too.

Now, no coffee for me in the AM is a bad time ,plus it was playoff football Sunday, and I was looking forward to seeing Denver lose (I’m a Raiders fan, yes yes judge away). So I decided to go to a local restaurant, get me some bacon, eggs, coffee and wifi and wait out the power outage.

And I don’t know what you normally do when the power goes out, but I just sit around and I……wait….(ha, that’s a classic stand-up bit by Joe Rogan, a must watch).

I scouped up my jacket and laptop, got the pup, scraped off the windshield with my sourdough bench scraper (sounds funny but it’s what I had, pictured), and hopped in the truck.

We were ready to go!

I cranked the engine of my 1984 Jeep J20 pickup, and the old girl tried, tried, tried but couldn't turn over. Cold had sapped the battery juice.

My fault, I knew the battery was running low the other day. Should have charged it.

But I always keep a spare battery charger on board, so I popped it on, and 60 seconds later grooooooom, we were off to the races.

Consider this your wake-up call.

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I started backing out of the driveway and…. ah shit. A massive branch had come down right across it.

And it’s hard to tell from the picture, but that beauty is about 12 inches in diameter. Almost crushed the car up front and the front fence.

No way I could move it.

So, at this point. Im thinking… no power… no heat… trees falling… battery low….super cold…it just got real.

And to be honest, I kinda love this stuff.

So I busted out the Husquavana 460 chainsaw and went to town.

And made mincemeat of that frozen log.

Then I threw the saw, shovel, jack, spare tire, and extra gas can in the back of the truck like it was the zombie apocalypse.

And got the hell out of dodge.

As I was pulling out, a small Ford Explorer came screaming down the road, up the street, and careened around my corner like a bat out of hell. It was the Nashville Electric Service folks. And they were on a mission.

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Ok, back to business.

I drove down the road and bam, I saw why, there were 3 separate down power lines.

Remember, do not drive over powerlines, that a receipe for a bad day.

I locked in 4-wheel drive and drove back around the block and to the main road.

No power at the traffic lights either.

Same story at the next intersection and the next. The whole part of town was out.

Clearly, this little power outage was not routine.

So I called my buddy who lives out in the burbs.

He had power.

And coffee.

So we made our way on out.

Fortunately, I’m a capable young person. But if this continues for much longer, it will start to get dangerous for older folks.

A quick look at the NES website showed much of the area effected.

And it is here that our story ends. But two important lessons begin.

Ok, story complete, for now. Hope you enjoyed.

It’s a winter superstorm! And across the upper sunbelt region of the US, millions are without power, trees are exploding (yes thats a thing apparently) and the geriatric US electrical grid is being tested, but good.

Here in Nashville, we only got about 4 inches of snow, but the cold temperatures and ice accumulation have somehow taken down our electrical distribution infrastructure. As my fridged hands type, 230k folks are still without power. And no power means no heat.

Wild.

Why did this happen?

This kind of cold-weather grid failure is all too familiar.

Let’s take the Great Texas Freeze, for example.

In February 2021, temperatures of -2°F in Dallas/Fort Worth caused widespread power outages, far below typical temperatures (and the same temperature today here in the affected Sunbelt region).

The cold weather caused equipment to freeze, including natural gas wells, pipelines, compressors, and power plant components. At the same time, electricity demand surged due to heating needs, peaking at around 69-76 GW, while supply plummeted. Natural gas, which provided about 45-50% of the Utility ERCOT’s power, saw the largest shortfalls, with production dropping by up to 48-85% due to freeze-offs and unpowered infrastructure. Coal and nuclear plants also failed, while wind turbines (contributing ~23-25% of capacity) underperformed due to icing and low winds, though their losses were smaller in absolute terms compared to fossil fuels.

So why does this happen?

In short, our electric grid is as brittle as a geriatric BMX rider. Systemic factors included inadequate winterization of infrastructure, despite prior warnings from the Federal utility regulator FERC. Utilities often do not prioritize resilience, leading to low reserve margins and inadequate winter preparations. We have seen this in hot summer conditions too, as we did in California when utility PG&E’s power lines sparked massive wildfires.

This is stark evidence we need to upgrade our electrical infrastructure, and/or have alternative electrical generation on site.

We need more electrons in the system.

After this, I’m thinking of getting a solar and battery storage system, both for my home and for my rental properties.

I’m receiving a LOT of incoming from my tenants today with questions on what to do, and I feel powerless to help.

Best advice I can give is to keep your faucets dripping to avoid bursting a pipe and to assure folks we’ll get everything fixed up asap.

Already, the plumbers, tree trimmers, electricians, roofers, and handymen I’m calling for help are booked up for the whole week. Some longer.

A word to you, fellow investors, always treat your tradesmen like kings. You never know when you’ll need them most.

In times like these, we really need to appreciate these folks.

I’m about to start bribing mine with bourbon and bonuses to get work done.

Also.

One often overlooked job is the American lineworker.

These are the skilled professionals responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing electrical power transmission and distribution lines.

They ensure that electricity flows reliably from power plants to homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

These folks are BAD ASS.

Their daily tasks often include climbing utility poles or towers, operating aerial bucket trucks, stringing or splicing high-voltage wires, inspecting equipment for faults, and restoring power during outages caused by storms or accidents. This work requires immense physical strength, technical knowledge of electrical systems, and the ability to work in all weather conditions, often outdoors and on call 24/7.

The job is notoriously hazardous, consistently ranking as the third most dangerous occupation in the United States— behind only loggers and deep-sea fishers.

Today, we all should take a moment to appreciate these awesome folks.

We thank you.

Escaping to the burbs with my buddy and his lovely lady.

Until next time. Stay Curious. Stay Skeptical.

Herzliche Grüße,

-The Skeptical Investor

P.S. Need a little push to get to the next level in your real estate journey? You can consult with me, The Skeptical Investor. Get professional advice from someone who actually owns real estate. Want to Grow? Get clarity on how to grow your business or scale. Stuck? Get answers to your problem, let's hop on the phone and figure it out.
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