Turning the lights back on...

[Jack]

Addressing both bigpauls and metroyeti's post.

Water would be a high priority utility to have back, its my understanding though that modern systems are regulated by computers so would need electrical input, but as mentioned could be powered by localised generators and should imagine they have their own back ups you could utilise.
Why would you use the existing system? Because it would be an efficient use of pre existing technology and the pipes running to homes to give clean water to the masses. Freeing up much of the time needed in gathering water to instead focus on crops and other issues.
The same systems collect water efficiently to and in times of draught have vast storage capacity.

I'm not suggesting we strive to have everything we had before but improve upon it - in the long term - but initially to use what is already available is a logical approach to recreating society (not replicating it).
Not everyone will be equipped with the skills to be self sufficient and we have had the comforts of electricity, relative safety, clean water and abundance of food to hone our own skills, but in an environment where we are fighting against or if you prefer, working with, the elements poor crop yields and medical concerns teaching future generations, our own children will prove incredibly difficult and at best hope to live like nomads of old, loosing predefined identities developed over hundreds of years that yes is flawed now but I'd like to think I could recognise some of the world my eventual grandchildren will inhabit, and I'd like them to have running water electricity medicines etc....
But the point of the post is IF we are to turn them back on how would we do so?
If you wanted to live away from civilisation and its efforts to pick itself up from a disaster then in your case BP I'm sure you could live happily among the rolling countryside of Devon for the remainder of your years without interference from the lazy stupid people that wish to switch the lights back on

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A great place to find diesel, at least in the uk mort, less sure about the US, is rail depots, shipping yards to... They have their own massive fuelling stations and in the early days before people bacame desperate enough to check these off of the beaten track depots will be pretty much full to the brim, no dregs to worry about... Many large transit companies or those with large fleets (BT in England) have depots at many stations to. So keeping your lights on in particular, if you have similar installations, would be very achievable and if you could act quickly enough before those snickers thief's turned to the fuel, relatively safe