power grid vulnerability.

whether a reasonably well planned prank, weekend soldiers being idiots or a dress rehearsal for a terrorist attack events like this have to be added to the risk above and beyond normal mechanical failures, weather, coronal mass ejection etc.

More reason to have ones own back up power of some kind. 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304851104579359141941621778

A high-ranking USG official (outgoing DHC chief?) remarked that an EMP attack is a certainty; another source claims that within a year of such an event, 90% of Americans would be dead.

Coronal mass ejection is also an eventually , odds say it must happen, the utilities know this but the required amount of hardening or even warehoused spares for the big grid sized transformers is not being done.  For one thing you'd think the factories who make the transformers would
1. always keep a extras spares on hand, apparently less than a dozen exist.
2. keep supplies on hand for several months of production rather than relying just in time delivery
3. be hardened + have independent back up power of their own.

Thing is you can't rebuild the grid without power to rebuild the equipment for the grid.

? no one can tell me if a solar panel would fry with emp, I know voltage controllers and inverters would blow but would the panels themselves survive so you'd at least have some raw power for less sensitive NON solid state things to run on.

I guess I'll finally figure out how much Worcestershire sauce is required to make long pork tender.

A CME like the Carrington event will eventually happen again and we lose the entire grid, computers, the chips that let cars run, it will be all dogs and cats sleeping together

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859