Sorry Greg but I have never lost cell phone use during a power outage...

Well, here's hoping your incredibly good luck - and not the majority experience, I might add - continues, and the one time you really NEED that cell phone in a real emergency you don't find out about the effect of power outages to your sorrow. Sincerely.

During the recent Maine earthquake, my niece and I could not make phone calls (same carrier) because the relay was overloaded with calls...I was still able to text...

Yup - common occurrance, and another excellent reason for not relying solely on cell phones for emergency communication. By the way, ya can't "text" 911 (or 999).

Best,

Greg