Err, yes, that's what I meant when I said a local t/s (timeswitch). These had a 7 day spring reserve, so they were OK for normal supply interruptions. 1987 was a bit of problem after the great hurricane!
Unless things have changed in the last few years, not as much as you might be tempted to think.
Don't even think about it! I could certainly add one or two far more ingenious means, but then, I spent a little bit of my working life looking for it, and it is a criminal offence!