Power & Brownouts

Mechanics Guide — Remnants: Post-Collapse Idle Survival

Overview

Power is the mid-game resource that everything eventually depends on. Advanced buildings consume it continuously. If your power supply falls short of demand, the settlement enters a brownout — a tiered penalty system that scales from minor efficiency loss all the way to active population decline.

Power management is the most common cause of mid-game collapses. The four brownout tiers are unforgiving: a single rushed building expansion can cascade from Minor all the way to Blackout if you're not watching your net power balance.

Brownout Tiers

Hover the Power icon in the resource bar at any time to see current supply vs demand and which tier you're in.

Normal Supply ≥ Demand

All production at 100%
Tech and Influence generation full
Population growth unaffected

Minor Brownout Supply slightly below demand

All production ~80%
Tech and Influence generation ~60%
Population growth unaffected
Radio log warns of power strain

Brownout Moderate deficit

All production ~55%
Tech and Influence generation ~30%
Population growth unaffected at this tier
Research progress slows significantly

Severe Large deficit

All production ~30%
Tech and Influence generation ~10%
Population growth halted (first tier where growth stops)
Food and water shortfalls likely — population starts at risk

Blackout Critical deficit

All production ~10%
Tech and Influence generation 0%
Population actively declines — survivors flee
Emergency: build generators immediately
Food/water production at near-zero means population collapse is rapid

Blackout cascade: At 10% production, food and water output drops below population consumption. Population declines → less production → less tech → can't research → can't build generators. This spiral is hard to escape without pre-built emergency generators. Always buffer.

Power Buildings

Building	Output	Unlock	Notes
Battery Bank	2.5/s	Water > 0	First power building. Cheap, low output. Build many early.
Diesel Generator	18/s	6× Battery Bank	Core mid-game power. Reliable high output. No power drain.
Solar Array	90/s	Solar Tech research + 6× Diesel Gen	Major step up. Zero drain. Build as soon as Solar Tech unlocks.
Wind Farm	550/s	Advanced Engineering + 4× Solar Array	Late-game primary source. High water cost to build.
Fusion Prototype	4500/s	Fusion Theory research + 3× Wind Farm	One unit powers the entire settlement. End-game only.

High-Drain Buildings (watch these)

Building	Drain/s	Notes
Blast Smelter	90/s	Highest drain in scavenging panel
Nano Fabricator	320/s	Requires multiple Wind Farms to sustain
Arcology	450/s	Single biggest drain. Don't build without Fusion Prototype or 2+ Wind Farms
Strip Mine	35/s	Moderate drain, high count means it adds up
Hydroponic Farm	40/s	Common cause of early power issues
Aqueduct Network	160/s	Major late water building — ensure power buffer before building

Strategy

Always check net power before building. The Power tooltip shows supply minus demand. Keep it positive by at least 20% margin.
Build one generator ahead of need. A single extra Diesel Generator is cheap insurance against a brownout.
Solar Tech is the priority mid-game research. The jump from 18/s (Diesel) to 90/s (Solar) per building is the most impactful power upgrade in the game.
Don't rush Arcology without Fusion. 450/s drain from a single building will Blackout any setup without Wind Farms or Fusion running.
Blueprint: Grid Schematics — all power production +20%, building power drain −10%. High-value expedition reward for power-heavy runs.
Fusion Theory research — all production +15% permanently. Worth the huge cost at any stage. Unlocks Fusion Prototype, solving power forever.

Recovery from Blackout: If you hit Blackout — stop building anything. Let existing food/water stockpile sustain population temporarily. Sell or demolish the highest-drain building if possible. Rush one more generator. Normal tier returns fast once supply exceeds demand even slightly.

Also see: Research Guide → · Buildings Reference → · Wiki Hub →

Play Remnants Free →