The FBI Warned Congress About America’s Power Grid. Here’s What Happens in Your House in the First 12 Hours Without Power
It’s not the blackout that gets families. It’s the dark. And the one thing that runs out first.
Updated November 2, 2026 · 7 min read
In January 2024, the director of the FBI sat in front of Congress and said it out loud.1
“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities.”
A week later, the FBI, the NSA and CISA put out a joint warning: these hackers are seeking to pre-position on the networks of U.S. critical infrastructure, including energy.2
Most people heard that and changed the channel.
Here’s what it would actually look like in your house.
See What Prepared Families Keep →Weather and sabotage already do it
Berlin, January 2026: a fire set on power cables. About 45,000 homes in the dark, in winter, for four days. The longest outage in the city since 1945.3
North Carolina, 2022: someone shot up two substations. Up to 40,000 customers without power for about four days.4
Neither one was a war. Neither one was a cyberattack. And the lights still stayed off for days.
The first 12 hours in a house with no power
The lights cut. The fridge goes quiet. The Wi-Fi dies. Everyone grabs their phone.
Every phone flashlight in the house is on. Every battery is dropping. Nobody thinks about it yet.
Someone finds candles. Now there’s an open flame in a dark house, near kids and curtains.6
The fridge stops keeping food cold, after about four hours.7 The house gets colder. Bedtime comes.
The first night. Bathroom trips in the dark. A kid on the stairs. Phones at 20%. And you start doing the math: light now, or a call later?
Restoration can take days. The stores are out of batteries and flashlights. The phones are dead.
Your light runs out before your food does
Most families have a few days of food. Some water. Maybe a generator.
But their light plan is: the phone, a few candles, and the flashlight in the drawer.
- The phone: its light drains the battery you need for calls, alerts and 911.
- Candles: about 7,900 home fires a year in the U.S., one in three in a bedroom.6
- The drawer flashlight: batteries dead, and none left in the stores.
And the official advice is one light per person: “Have flashlights for every household member.”7
A family of four needs four. Most have zero that don’t depend on batteries or a flame.
Stop storing light. Start making it.
Batteries run out. Candles burn down. The sun comes back every morning.
That’s the idea behind the Lingo Pop-Up Solar Lantern.
And there’s a small USB port on top. In a pinch, it gives your phone an emergency top-up from the lantern’s battery.9
So your phone stays alive for what matters: your family, the alerts, and 911. Newer iPhones can even reach 911 by satellite when there’s no signal.8
“These was a life saver during the black out we had one so I bought more and plan on getting more. They light up a room really good.”
Arthelda Willis Verified purchase“Hurricane is bearing down o. Our location. The lights are placed strategically in our house. Easily operated my wife. Light emitted is more than sufficient to illuminate our needs during a blackout”
Jedi1701G Verified purchase“It’s just perfect. No batteries required. Used them the same day I received them. We had a blackout and they were very useful.”
Hydrangea57 Verified purchase- ✓ Works when the grid is down: sun or USB
- ✓ No flame, no hot glass: safe for kids to carry
- ✓ Lantern + flashlight in one
- ✓ USB port for an emergency phone top-up
- ✓ About 8 oz, soda-can size closed: fits a drawer, a glovebox, a go-bag
- ✓ IPX4 water-resistant
Questions
Why not just buy a cheap flashlight?
A flashlight needs batteries you have to keep fresh, and it lights a spot, not a room. The lantern lights a table or a small room, recharges in the sun, and closes into a flashlight too.
Why not candles?
An open flame in a dark house, often near beds and curtains. Candles start thousands of home fires every year. The lantern has no flame.
Will it fully charge my phone?
No, and we won’t pretend it does. It has a small built-in battery and a USB port for an emergency top-up. The maker lists it for Android phones. Think “get through the night”, not “charge to 100%”.
How long does it take to charge?
About 4 hours by USB, per the maker. In the sun it’s slower, so charge it by USB first, then keep it on a sunny windowsill.
How many do I need?
Official advice is a light for every household member. Most families pick the Family Pack (4 lanterns, $25.00 each) or Buy 2 + 1 FREE (3 lanterns, $79.99).
Is shipping free? Is it a subscription?
Shipping to the US and Canada is free on every offer. You pay once. No subscription.
Get ready while the lights are still on
Nobody can tell you the day the power goes out on your street.
But you already know what the first night looks like without a plan.
If you never need the lanterns, they’re great on the porch and in the tent.
If you do, they’re the only thing in the house that still works.
- Charges in the sun or by USB
- Pull it open: it lights up. Push it closed: flashlight
- USB port to top up a phone in an emergency
- No batteries to buy. No flame.
- FBI Director Christopher Wray, opening statement to the House Select Committee on the CCP, January 31, 2024 (fbi.gov).
- CISA, NSA & FBI joint advisory AA24-038A, “PRC State-Sponsored Actors Compromise and Maintain Persistent Access to U.S. Critical Infrastructure”, February 7, 2024 (cisa.gov).
- Berlin power grid arson attack, January 3–7, 2026: about 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses lost power, the longest outage in the city since 1945 (widely reported; see Wikipedia “2026 arson attack on the Berlin power grid”).
- Moore County, North Carolina, December 3, 2022: gunfire damaged two substations; up to 40,000 customers lost power, mostly restored about four days later.
- NFPA, Home Candle Fires (2013–2017): about 7,900 home fires started by candles per year in the U.S.; roughly one in three started in a bedroom.
- Ready.gov, Power Outages: “Have flashlights for every household member.” “The refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours.”
- Apple: Emergency SOS via satellite is available on iPhone 14 and later in supported countries, including the U.S. and Canada.
- Lantern specs and charging time (about 4 hours by USB) as listed by the manufacturer. The USB output is for an emergency top-up, not a full charge; the maker lists it for Android phones.
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