Gary, Indiana is a warning: energy independence has gotten personal

<div class="feat-image"><img src="https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/08/gary_dark.png?w=1600" /></div><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nearly two weeks after a summer derecho knocked out power, tens of thousands of people in Gary, Indiana were still without power, with many taking to social media to highlight the reality of living through a prolonged blackout. While the utility made excuses, the data centers that powered the community’s social media presence were humming along, built on a very different assumption: <strong>that the power MUST stay on</strong>.</p> <p>And, if you tilted your head just so, that humming might have sounded like a warning.</p>