Loss of electricity in the nation for a prolonged time would result in a lot of dead people.
EMP over the nation (takes 1-2 lower-powered nukes to do that) would kill maybe 90% of Americans.
Carrington event would be less because a lot of cars would still work. But it would still be very bad. It would take out every electric device hooked to a power line (unless it had a good surge protector). No pumps or electric equipment to supply water, take away waste, process food, make drugs, run hvac, make fuel, supply natural gas, refrigerate food, move things on piplelines, make anything in a factory. You might be able to travel for a distance with vehicles until fuel runs out. Most farms would die without electricity, pumps, and fuel.
EMP: Carrington event plus, no working cars, trucks, boats, planes, trains. You are instantly reduced to a travel radius of what you can do on foot or bike (or horse, for the tiny fraction of people who have horses).
I think most people without access to surface water would die within a month. People without food would die in half a year. Anyone requiring medicine to survive would die after a while. Lots of people would get murdered.
It would be horrible.
For several $billion (which is nothing in modern budgets), our government could make it so that such events wouldn't kill 90% of people. But few know about this biggest of all threats. Few people care.
Me, once I learned about how this stuff is entirely possible, I at least made buckets of rice and beans (sealed in mylar, with oxygen absorber inside, will last for 30+ years, and together are a complete protein), getting some water filters that allow you to use swamp water, etc., enough for my family for a while. One bucket is a man-month of calories. It is cheap, doesn't take much time, and you can do it once in your life and be protected against starvation.
