F-150 EV Owners Are Using Their Trucks as Generators During Houston’s Power Outages

Earlier this month, Hurricane Beryl struck the Houston metropolitan area, which — as tends to happen after hurricanes — experienced a power outage. What was distinctive about this one was how long it lasted, with hundreds of thousands of area residents only getting service restored today. Over the weekend, the New York Times pointed to the benefits of having a generator during a crisis like this — and for some Houston-area residents, that generator is also known by another name. Namely, their pickup truck.

As Ford rolled out its electric F-150 Lightning, one of the most interesting features the automaker touted was Pro Power Onboard. (As Umar Shakir at The Verge points out, this is also available on gas-powered models.) Pro Power Onboard does exactly what you might expect — and while Ford’s own promotional materials points to the F-150’s ability to charge construction or contracting equipment, the F-150 Lightning can also charge other EVs or pick up the slack in the case of a residential power outage.

Over the weekend, Ford North America Product Communications director took to Threads to demonstrate how the Pro Power Onboard feature was being used in and around Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. The map showed a steady (and dramatic) increase in the number of Ford drivers making use of this feature to generate at least one kilowatt of power before, during and after Beryl.

Testing the Ford F-150 Lightning’s Superpower: Charging Other EVs

How realistic is a vehicle-to-vehicle charge? Our writer plugged in to find out.

The possibility of extreme weather and the havoc it can cause in the power grid is one reason that many people opt to purchase a home generator. Depending on your backup needs, the aftermath of Beryl shows that the right vehicle might well be able to supplement or replace a home generator. With the controversy surrounding the loss of power after Beryl still fresh in most people’s minds, it’ll be interesting to see what effect the disaster has on the sales of vehicles that can keep appliances running in the absence of household power.