How often have you sat in the dark in your home wondering when the power will be restored? Any minute, the lights – along with the HVAC system, refrigerator, Internet and big-screen TV – will come back to life, right? Or will it be hours? Or worse, days?

With a slew of summer storms – and the power outages they brought along with them – still swirling around in Hoosiers’ memory banks, those thoughts aren’t as distant as most would like. It’s times like these that have caused many Indiana residents to wonder if they should buy a back-up generator.

But what if I told you there could be a solution parked in your garage or driveway? No, this isn’t an infomercial. It’s a technology blog, and fast-developing electric vehicle (EV) technology is making it possible that the vehicle you drive around town could be an alternate power source for your home during critical times.

While I joked earlier about longing for your big-screen TV, there are items that are critically important that require power, including medical equipment and medicine that need refrigeration. Power outages are cause for serious concern for some.

Already, electric car batteries can hold approximately 60 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy, enough to provide back-up power to an average U.S. household for two days. Larger electric vehicles like buses and trucks have even bigger batteries and can provide more power. The American company Proterra produces electric buses that can store up to 660 kWh of energy. Electric garbage trucks and even big-rigs, with bigger batteries, are becoming a reality too.

If equipped with fast-developing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) or vehicle-to-home technology, those cars, buses and trucks could prove invaluable during future blackouts. People could rely on their cars to power their houses. Municipalities, transit agencies and school districts could send out their fleets to the areas most in need. We could power homes, shelters and emergency response centers — and could keep people warm, healthy and comfortable until power is restored.

There are hurdles. The technology is still developing. The vast majority of EVs currently on the road do not have this capability, and utilities would need regulatory approval before bringing it to scale. But done right it could be a great opportunity.

And make no mistake, this technology is coming. As EVs evolve, the batteries are getting bigger to push vehicles farther on a single charge. That also gives them more juice to keep the lights on and the fridge humming in your house for days on end.

Last year, Ford caught the attention of car and truck buyers, energy experts and homeowners when it announced its newest all-electric F-150 pickup truck would be able to discharge energy from the vehicle into the house. Ford officials boasted that the F-150 Lightning can provide more power than a stand-alone generator. This is technology that just five years ago was unthinkable. Ford has even started marketing the two pieces of equipment needed to pull power from its EV and pump it into the home. In some cases, Ford says that equipment will be provided with a vehicle purchase.

With the continued development of EV technology, it’s clear that many more automakers nationally and globally are sure to speed down this road.

Anthony Schoettle is the director of communications for the Indiana Chamber. He started with the Chamber in 2021 after a long career in journalism. He’s won multiple awards for his storytelling ability on a wide range of business topics.