2013 Solar Flares: Will we be without powers for YEARS? HELP

So I've been reading things about the 2013 solar flares and I'm really starting to worry because some say this could cause us to be without power for a long time. Will this actually happen?

No. Solar flares happen constantly. There have been many this year. They aren't a big deal. The frequency of solar flares rises and falls on a cycle of about 11 years. 2013 is the next peak of frequency, but it's expected to be the mildest one in nearly a century.

Since the world hasn't ended in any of the other previous solar maximums that have been happening every 11 years for billions of years, I wouldn't waste much time worrying about this mild one.

Did you notice any of the solar storms this year? Did they affect your life? Was your power knocked back to the stone age? Whatever you've already experienced this year, that's about what to expect next year.

Solar flares happen many times per year, every year. There's nothing special expected in 2013, except the solar maximum. Sound ominous? Well, bear in mind we go through one of those about every 11.5 years. This is actually a sluggish, slow solar cycle, so the last one was in 2000. Did we lose power for years then?

Being without power for years is not remotely a possibility, though a major coronal mass ejection can cause temporary outages, particularly if power utilities are not warned of it. Fortunately, we have ample means to monitor and detect such events.

No. Solar flares constantly happen and we reach something called a 'solar max' on an 11 years cycle. The 2013 flares you talk about are the peak of the solar max, and while there is a good chance it could interrupt satellites and such for a little while, it will be nothing extensive, and there is absolutely no need to worry.

If a single lightbulb burns out in your house, is your house completely without lights?