I did once live in a city (Alameda) with its own power company and I think that’s a good way to go. I doubt they had the capability to “island” (run disconnecte

I did once live in a city (Alameda) with its own power company and I think that’s a good way to go. I doubt they had the capability to “island” (run disconnected), though, despite being an island. Everything is a matter of engineering, but it’s also a matter of cost, who pays to build or upgrade the infrastructure, and what cheaper alternatives there might be. From what I remember reading about Vermont, it was less expensive to add battery backups controlled by the power company than to upgrade the grid in rural areas.