Well, I don't expect power to shut off completely within what is left of civilization itself, for a while. The problem is not sudden shutoff, but decreased reliability, failure to maintain the grid, and over-centralization of the grid.
Ideal situation is to be on the grid BUT to have the ability to generate your own power (and maybe even sell your excess capacity into the grid, like they do with solar in the southwest). That way, you would not have to worry about storing your excess--just sell it.
One of those geothermal systems might be feasible where I am, because while not very warm, it's not very cold either. Keep the thermostat at 62F and you might not have to go broke.
Since I expect our money to become worthless anyway, I'm springing for some attic insulation. Kinda hard to retro-insulate the whole house, but because my house is low-to-the-ground, out the roof is probably where the bulk of my winter heat is lost anyway. We insulated the windows by replacing them with double-paned, so the roof would be the next logical "hotspot" (pun intended).
If and when we move, I will pass along my capital investment to whoever buys the house. I think it is far more worthwhile, than all the overblown kitchen and bathroom remodeling jobs the yuppites were doing.
