Need backup power? Automakers want you to look no further than their vehicles in your driveway

DETROIT (AP) — Winter Storm Uri, the multiday freeze that slammed Texas in February 2021 and pummeled the state's power grid, has been on Kenneth Kovar's mind ever since. Though the resident of New Braunfels, northeast of San Antonio, didn't lose power at the time, he wasn't able to run his septic tank — it is independent from local systems. He had to fill his toilets with water from his backyard pool.

So when Kovar, 64, bought a Ford F-150 last fall, his hope was to be better prepared for any new crisis.

“I was interested in trying to find some sort of power backup situation,” he said.

Now, Kovar has a setup from Ford that allows drivers of certain F-150 models to plug their vehicle directly into their electric meter to power parts of their home during an outage.

It is the latest example of automakers broadly adapting their electrification technologies to the home energy business, especially as demand on the grid increases and sales of electric vehicles slow. Car companies are looking to leverage their multibillion dollar EV investments to tap into a promising market in vehicle, home and grid technology, both for backup power and for supporting electrical grid resiliency.

“They’re trying to look for other businesses that they might sell into,” said Parth Vaishnav, assistant professor of sustainable systems at the University of Michigan.

Drivers of the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid and F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks can now plug in a one-foot long adapter to a 240-volt outlet onboard. That adapter — which Ford made with company Global Power Products — makes the vehicle compatible to plug into a longer, separate cable. That cable connects to a transfer switch installed directly on one's electric meter.

Through the adapter and cable series, homeowners can connect their vehicle essentially right to their home’s breaker box. The homeowner simply turns on and off which breaker switches they want for which devices they want powered.

“The way we think about it, especially for customers who already have a compatible vehicle is, you already own the power source, it’s in your driveway,” said Amanda Roraff, Ford's grid and energy services business acceleration lead.

The Lightning might provide power for two to three days, depending on what home devices are being used, and the PowerBoost Hybrid, up to five days on a single tank of gas.

The automaker says its solution is a less expensive way to supply backup power. Conventional, diesel-powered portable generators and full-home standby setups require expensive installation, costing several thousands of dollars. This solution, which also requires professional installation at the meter, starts around $1,100.

The setup only applies to about 200,000 vehicles so far, and it is also exclusively for outages. Ford also offers its Home Integration System for bidirectionality, sending power both from the vehicle to the home and from the home to the vehicle, while also being able to feed the grid.

Over 630,000 U.S. vehicles already have this functionality, estimates say, and automakers are rapidly expanding their available options with the goal of full vehicle-to-grid support in the long run.

South Korean auto brand Kia and Wallbox, an EV charging company, have teamed up so that drivers of eligible compatible vehicles can have home power backup during outages or during periods of high demand, to cut their utility use. They can send power back to the grid.

Tesla’s technology is similar — allowing drivers of equipped vehicles to connect to their home using additional Tesla hardware. The Cybertruck provides full vehicle-to-home capability, where other Tesla models can only connect to and power specific devices or appliances.

General Motors is also in the energy space.

A recent partnership with WeaveGrid, for instance, allows homeowners who drive certain GM EVs — and have the automaker’s home system and a proper grid interconnection — to enroll in some grid reliability utility programs. Once an outage is detected, GM’s vehicle-to-home tech has the capability to disconnect one's home from the grid and start supplying power from their GM EV.

“If you can imagine the future as we go forward, it's having the ability — now that we have this single platform — that allows our customer to experience our system,” said Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM energy, “but also can have the full control of the energy.”

Not only is this business critical amid growing grid demand and increasing power outages, experts say automakers need to pivot with the EV market less active under current U.S. federal policy. Pure EV sales in the U.S. year-over-year are down 23.8%, according to a July Cox Automotive report on the first half of 2026. This demonstrates what an asset that EV and hybrid ownership can be.

The tech is not without challenges.

On the industry side, these systems have to undergo third-party testing to ensure they meet safety standards, and the vehicle and the charger need to be programmed to communicate. It also requires the approval of the utility where the capability is being used. It could take years to get an interconnect agreement.

On the customer side, homeowners need to understand their vehicles' abilities and how to self-manage their system. It also just brings another generator of power into the home mix.

Still, experts see opportunity, especially with interest in EV sales high outside of the U.S.

“We already know during an outage, its impact, providing electricity to the home,” said Scott Samuelsen, engineering professor emeritus at the University of California, Irvine. “This is going to become very, very popular.”

Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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FILE - Unsold 2026 F-150 pickup trucks sit in a long line outside a Ford agency April 12, 2026, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

A Pro Power onboard information screen is displayed on a Ford F-150 King Ranch, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Southgate, Mich. An available adapter makes the vehicle compatible to plug into a longer, separate cable that connects to a transfer switch installed directly on one's electric meter. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A one-foot long adapter is shown connected to a 240-volt outlet onboard a Ford F-150 King Ranch on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Southgate, Mich. The adapter makes the vehicle compatible to plug into a longer, separate cable that connects to a transfer switch installed directly on one's electric meter. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

FILE - An Oncor Electric Delivery lineman crew work on repairing a utility pole that was damaged by the winter storm that passed through Odessa, Texas, Feb. 18, 2021. (Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP, File)

A one-foot long adapter is shown connected to a 240-volt outlet onboard a Ford F-150 King Ranch, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Southgate, Mich. The adapter makes the vehicle compatible to plug into a longer, separate cable that connects to a transfer switch installed directly on one's electric meter. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua's lawmakers said they will carry out a plan by President Daniel Ortega to abolish elections in the Central American country, prompting renewed criticisms Wednesday by the international community.

The move was announced in a statement Tuesday by Nicaragua's congress, which is firmly in the hands of Ortega and his wife and co-President Rosario Murillo. It said the latest constitutional overhaul will ensure Nicaragua's “peace, security and stability.”

The legislature was following through on Ortega's announcement from the weekend that “there won’t be anymore elections,” reflecting both his effort to extend his nearly 20-year rule and remove any chance of the opposition gaining power.

Under Ortega, the government has carried out a sweeping crackdown on dissent following a violent suppression of protests in 2018. Authorities have jailed opposition politicians, religious leaders and others, and also shut down thousands of civil society organizations in the country.

The congress has repeatedly amended the constitution to concentrate power in Ortega's hands and eliminate any shred of democratic independence and dissent in the country.

Ortega's remarks on Sunday, during a speech marking the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, effectively canceled Nicaragua’s next elections. The vote was originally scheduled for November 2027 after the government-controlled congress voted in January 2025 to extend the five-year presidential term by one year.

Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, on Wednesday sharply condemned Nicaragua's developments, saying that “people of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office.”

“These latest developments further deepen the severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space, and the steady erosion of the rule of law,” Türk said in a statement.

Nicaragua’s government declined to comment on the criticism, saying in a statement, “Thank you for your interest.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the move by Ortega and Murillo to eliminate elections in Nicaragua “lays bare their true authoritarian nature.”

“The United States calls on the international community to join forces to demonstrate to the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship that it cannot expect to maintain business as usual with other nations when it is thwarting the basic tenets of our democratic hemisphere,” Rubio wrote in a statement.

The Trump administration — despite harsh words, sanctions and repeated criticisms — has made few major moves against Nicaragua’s government. In nearby El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has also whittled away democratic checks-and-balances and gone after critics, the U.S. administration has largely praised the leader.

FILE - Nicaraguan police have their picture taken with President Daniel Ortega, in Masaya, Nicaragua, July 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Cristobal Venegas, File)