Start here
The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →Why the log beats the memory
Commissions hold special hearings after storms and major outages and take testimony from customers; the household that has a dated log can contribute to that record instead of describing an impression. It is also the only way to show a pattern — a single outage is weather, six in a month is a maintenance question.
If medication, medical equipment, or a business depends on the service, the log is also the basis of a reimbursement or a priority-restoration request, which some states provide for medical baseline customers.
The protocol
- Log every outage: start, end, what was affected, and whether the utility's own map or message confirmed it.
- Keep the consequential losses with receipts: food, medication, a hotel night, lost work hours.
- Ask for the cause and the restoration record in writing, and keep the reply.
- Check the state's service-quality standards and whether priority restoration or medical baseline status applies.
- File the log with the commission's consumer division, and update it as the pattern continues.
What the tool does
Build an outage and loss log strong enough to file with the commission's consumer division or a storm hearing. It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a documentation and planning aid, not legal, energy or benefits advice. It cannot stop a shutoff by itself, compel a commission decision, or certify eligibility.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete run in this browser, no account. Optional $4 one-time unlock allows unlimited runs of this tool on this browser. The free path and safety guidance never require payment.
Rule status (state route): in force: state commissions set service-quality standards and receive consumer complaints, and hold hearings after storms and major outages to take customer testimony. Standards, credits, and priority-restoration rules vary by state. Reviewed 2026-10-03 against state service-quality rules.
Automated decision this documents: automated outage triage and restoration ordering
Free path, in order (no cost):
- Your state commission's consumer division (service-quality complaints)
- USA.gov consumer complaints route for the agency that fits (usa.gov/consumer-complaints)
- 211 — replacement food and emergency assistance (211.org)
What this cannot do: It cannot stop a shutoff by itself, compel a commission decision, or certify eligibility.
Sources checked 2026-10-03 · source bank reviewed against the live pages listed in metadata.
One human next step
File the outage log with your state commission's consumer division, and ask in writing about medical-baseline priority restoration if anyone in the household depends on powered equipment.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not used for a verdict. This builder organises the reader's own documents and names an independent source; it does not infer authenticity, eligibility, or legal rights. §6.9/§6.10/§6.11 disclosed in the batch report; §6.12 status line carried in metadata as `status_line`.
§0.5 protection result: category is utilities-and-essential-costs; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.