EV owners are using their trucks’ giant batteries to prevent blackouts

Brian Foreman and his wife Christy were getting ready to make dinner at their home in Highland, Maryland, when the power went out.

While the lights winked out around their neighborhood last May, Foreman went into the garage and plugged their electric pickup truck into the wall. A few moments later, the lights, refrigerator and the air fryer they had been using to make chicken tenders sprang back to life. The outage only lasted six hours, but Foreman estimates they could have kept their house running for a week without power.

“It’s amazing,” Foreman said. “We can still cook dinner, we can put the TV on, we can use the internet, we’ve got water. You can turn the AC on, or if it’s cold turn the heat on. It lets you continue life as usual.”

Now, Foreman’s truck isn’t just protecting his hom