The plague has struck. The apes are taking over. And to add disaster on top of calamity, the lights are going out….

A completely powerless society — it’s a common plot device in post-apocalyptic movies, including the summer’s newest blockbuster, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. In it, the humans want to restore electricity to their city after all the power plants have gone dark. But how difficult would that be, realistically?

Keep reading at the Houston Chronicle’s Fuel Fix.