Donnelly: Blackout a wake-up call for council on energy By Ann Donnelly Share: Ann Donnelly, a Vancouver businesswoman, is a former chair of the Clark County Republican Party. Photo How likely are electricity blackouts in Southwest Washington? The issue was front and center during last month’s multiday freeze extending from Seattle through the Midwest and notably to Texas. There, the historic prolonged cold, combined with ice, disabled most electricity resources, the natural gas system and water service. People, including at least one child, died. In Clark County, the freeze was of shorter duration. Two well-managed systems — Clark Public Utilities and NW Natural — divided the heating load to keep the region’s homes mostly safe, warm and supplied with energy under highly challenging conditions.