Grid Fail: The Truth About Solar During Power Outages

🌩️ “I Thought Solar Meant We’d Still Have Power.”

The rain was relentless—torrential, hammering the zinc roof like a thousand tiny fists.

At 8:42 p.m., the power blinked once, twice… then vanished. The house plunged into darkness. Outside, floodwaters had already begun to creep up the driveway.

Inside her terrace home in Taiping, Ainul Rahmah reached for her flashlight. The solar panels were supposed to protect her from this. She had installed them six months ago, after the last flood made her rethink her family’s energy security.

Now, her fridge was dead. Her kids' devices were offline. Her inverter—dark. She stared at it in disbelief.

“I have solar,” she whispered. “Why isn’t it working?”

The storm outside wasn’t the worst part. The real shock was realizing her solar system was completely useless during a blackout.

🧕 Meet Ainul: Mother, Engineer, and Believer in Clean Power

Ainul wasn’t new to tech. She worked in civil engineering, helped design climate-adaptive buildings, and had read up on Malaysia’s renewable energy targets.

When she installed solar, it was about more than lowering her Tenaga Nasional (TNB) bill. She wanted resilience—a way to keep her family safe when the grid failed, which it often did during monsoon season.

She chose a system under Malaysia’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) program, worked with a licensed solar PV provider, and was promised “maximum savings and year-round reliability.”

What she wasn’t told?

Grid-tied solar systems shut down during blackouts—unless they’re designed not to.

⚠️ The Problem: What Most Malaysians Don’t Know About Solar and Outages

This is the catch no one talks about in enough detail:

Standard solar systems in Malaysia are grid-tied.

That means during the day, they generate electricity for your home and feed excess power back to TNB. You get credits for it. It’s great for monthly savings.

But when the grid goes down? Your entire solar system shuts off. This is a safety requirement to prevent backflow electricity from injuring line workers.

And if your system wasn’t designed with battery storage or island-mode capabilities, your beautiful rooftop panels become nothing more than a heat shield during a power cut.

That’s what Ainul discovered—too late.

🔍 The Search for Answers—and a Better Way Forward

After the floodwaters receded, Ainul began asking questions. Real questions. Not the kind answered by glossy brochures.

She spoke to:

She learned that if she wanted her solar panels to provide power during blackouts, she needed:

She also learned that Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia offers support and incentives—but only if you design your system right from the start.

🛠️ How Ainul Rebuilt Her Energy Plan

She didn’t scrap her entire system. Instead, she retrofitted it—strategically.

The next blackout came during a milder storm—but this time, Ainul’s house stayed lit.

The fridge stayed cold. The fans kept spinning. Her kids finished homework. Her peace of mind returned.

⚡ The Transformation: From Confused to Confident

Ainul now speaks at local climate resilience forums. She shares her story with other women in her community. And when people ask her if solar is “worth it,” she doesn’t just say yes.

“It’s worth it—if you know what you’re really buying.”

Solar isn’t just panels.
It’s the design, the system, the backup strategy.
And in Malaysia, where outages are part of life, solar must mean reliability—not just rebates.

Energy Security Is More Than a Bill Reduction

If you’re thinking about going solar—whether in Malaysia or anywhere else—don’t let the conversation stop at “How much will I save?” That question barely scratches the surface.

Ainul learned that the real question is whether your solar system will show up when it matters most. Will it power your essentials when the grid fails? Does your inverter have the ability to operate independently, or is it helpless without a signal from the utility? Maybe you can’t afford a battery just yet—but is your system designed to add one later? And what kind of support programs, rebates, or technical guidance are actually available to help you build a future-proof system?

Because when the storm comes—and it will—the only system that matters isn’t the one that saved you a few ringgit on your last bill. It’s the one that keeps the lights on, the food cold, the fan running, and your family safe.

“The sun never stopped shining,” Ainul says. “But I had to learn how to store that light—so it would still be there when I needed it most.”

That’s the heart of true energy independence. Not just cheaper power. Resilient power. Power that answers when the rest of the world goes dark.