How electric cars are saving the day amid power outages in Florida and South Carolina

Justin Long’s F-150 Lightning kept the lights on at his vet clinic after Hurricane Helene destruction.

When Hurricane Helene knocked out the power at Justin Long’s veterinary practice in North Central Florida, he was ready.

For the second time this summer, Long drove his electric Ford F-150 Lightning to Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic on Friday morning and prepared to use his truck’s electricity to restore power.

After using store-bought extension cords during a previous storm to keep the clinic open at about 50% of capacity, Long said he was prepared this time with a bypass kit and transfer switch so he could use his Lightning Laraiat to run everything but the air conditioning.

“It was basically business as usual; it was just hot inside,” Long told B-17.

Being the only horse-equipped veterinary hospital in the area, Long said it’s important for Springhill to continue operations in moments of crisis.

“For horse owners and the other veterinarians in the area, knowing that we’re here, we’re open, it takes a ton of stress off people,” he said.

Long’s truck powering Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic over the weekend. 

Long, who also hosts the podcast Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth, will talk to anyone who will listen about his electric truck’s capabilities. He says it’s changed how he runs his business, cutting down on fuel costs and providing power for tools out on the job.

It was this mindset that encouraged him to go the extra mile over the weekend, using his truck to power a community event at his vet clinic.

“So many people were stunned to realize that everything inside the vet clinic was running off my truck,” Long said. “I spent a large part of my day just talking about the electric truck and the advantages that come with having one.”

Electric pickup trucks have become unlikely saviors in extreme weather conditions, as many models like Ford’s Lightning are equipped with technology that turns the truck into a mobile generator.

F-150 Lightning owners in the path of Hurricane Helene told B-17 this week they have been using their trucks to power everything from life-saving devices to home internet.

Ford saw a 6x increase in owners using their cars as generators

According to Ford’s internal monitoring of Pro Power Onboard usage, there was a sixfold spike in owners using the system (which converts battery power to usable power) immediately after the storm in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

In Long’s case, his standard-range Lightning could power his practice’s computers, lights, lab, and refrigerator for 48 hours before he had to drive it to a charger.

Meanwhile, in hard-hit South Carolina, Chris Wilson says his electric truck is “literally saving my life.” Wilson has acute sleep apnea, and without the use of his CPAP machine, he can die in his sleep, he said.

Three extension cords are running from Chris Wilson’s F-150 Lightning into his house to power essentials like his CPAP machine and fans to keep the house cool. 

After the power went out on Thursday night, Wilson said rushed to a hardware store to nab an extension cord long enough to run from his truck to the house so he could keep his breathing machine running.

“Without this truck, we would have been in a situation where we were searching for somewhere out of state like an emergency shelter or something of that nature,” Wilson said. “Trying to sleep without electricity would have been life-threatening for me.”

By Tuesday, Wilson had three extension cords running from his truck to the house to power the CPAP machine, a few fans, and their home internet connection. His children — ages 20, 15, and 13 — are happy to have access to the internet again, Wilson said.

“That has really calmed their nerves and anxiety with all of this,” he said, noting that two of his children are autistic and rely on electronic devices more heavily, he said.