Since about 2008 there has been a groundswell of intervention in the workings of what we now call the macrogrid that aren't coming from within the utility sector. One of the great drivers of this shift from indifference toward action is the failing reliability of the current system. One blossoming idea is that microgrids, even if privately owned, can still serve members of a damaged community by offering, heat, light, etc. during and following a disaster.