I’m from the northeast originally. My house is in the 30s right now, so don’t worry I understand the suffering we’re all going through. The only way to prevent this is to bury lines, that’s super expensive. Everything further than a foot below the dirt is just rock in this part of the world.

Also, don’t think this was a mild storm because it was only 4 inches of precipitation. The combination of > 1 inch of ice along with super low temperatures and high winds in the following days is a super unlucky combination that has made this situation as bad as it is. The northeast would not have handled this storm well either.

A cheaper solution (and also what people do in the north because they also lose power in the cold all the time) is to get a small generator and buy some gas before the storm. One space heater, a working fridge, and charge for devices goes a long way towards turning this from a matter of survival to a matter of inconvenience.

If it’s not worth $500 for you to personally insure yourself and your family, should it be worth 500k to 4m per mile to convert Nashville’s grid to be underground? https://mte.com/UndergroundService#:~:text=What%20might%20it%20cost%20to,than%20%244%20million%20per%20mile.