"Exactly," Patricia said triumphantly. "That's the spirit of community we're supposed to foster here."
"But that's not how electricity works," I said, standing up. "My generator is designed to safely power my home. If I start running extension cords to other houses, I could overload the system, start a fire, or electrocute someone. As a licensed electrical inspector, I would literally lose my professional certification if I created that kind of hazard."
"He's exaggerating," Margaret said. "People use extension cords all the time."
"For lamps and small appliances, yes. Not for entire houses or hot tubs."
Patricia's face went red. "I never said anything about a hot tub!"
"Really? Because I have your email right here." I pulled out my phone and started reading aloud: "'My hot tub's heating system will shut down completely without power. And it will take days to get it back to the proper temperature. Do you know how much that costs?'"
The room erupted in murmurs. Several people turned to look at Patricia with obvious disapproval.
"That's taken out of context!" Patricia sputtered. "I mentioned the hot tub as one example of how the power outage affected people, but the real issue was about medical needs."
"You told me it was a medical device—that you had a prescription for hydrotherapy."
More murmuring from the crowd, louder this time. I could see several people trying not to laugh.
Robert Chen cleared his throat. "Patricia, maybe we should table this discussion. The power is back on now, so there's no emergency anymore."
"No," Patricia said firmly. "We need to address Daniel's violation and establish clear guidelines for future incidents."