It is incredible that, after the experience of massive blackouts in the past, that we not only are still vulnerable to blackouts, but that critical systems are still completely vulnerable. This was not some podunk airport in North Dakota, this was JFK. There is absolutely no excuse for this.

Sad to say, the excuse up to now has always been simple economics. Standby generators are not cheap, by a long shot, and (this is design experience talking) trimming their capacity is a fairly standard method of reducing construction budgets. The building codes mandate a certain minimum level of standby power that varies depending on the type of facility, but essentially they're geared toward the concept of "life safety", not convenience (btw, lack of illumination in places like public bathrooms is, if I recall, not in compliance).

Keep in mind, what constitutes a "critical system" has changed a great deal in the past couple of years, whereas the infrastructure has not. Can you say, "Unfunded mandate"? I knew you could... there's been a lot of opportunity to practice the phrase in the last few years.

And - the country got lucky this time. Something happened to shed harsh light on another critical weakness in the national infrastructure without anyone dying as a result.