Configure Water and Electricity Shutoff

Set when water and electricity shut off on your Project Zomboid server, or disable shutoffs entirely.

In Project Zomboid, water and electricity eventually shut off as part of the apocalypse simulation. You can control when (or if) this happens on your server.

Shutoff Settings

Edit Zomboid/Server/[servername]_SandboxVars.lua:

SettingDefaultDescription
WaterShut2When water shuts off
ElecShut2When electricity shuts off
WaterShutModifier-1Exact day for shutoff (-1 = random within range)
ElecShutModifier-1Exact day for shutoff (-1 = random within range)

Shutoff Scale

ValueMeaning
0Instant (off at start)
10–30 days
20–2 months
30–6 months
40–1 year
50–5 years
6Never (always on)

Never Shut Off Utilities

For a more casual experience:

SandboxVars.lua
WaterShut = 6,
ElecShut = 6,

Set an Exact Shutoff Day

Use the modifier settings to set a specific day:

SandboxVars.lua
WaterShut = 2,
WaterShutModifier = 30,
ElecShut = 2,
ElecShutModifier = 14,

This shuts off electricity on day 14 and water on day 30.

Generator Settings

After electricity shuts off, players can use generators. Related settings:

SettingDefaultDescription
GeneratorSpawning3How often generators spawn (1=Extremely Rare, 5=Abundant)
GeneratorFuelConsumption1.0Fuel consumption rate (lower = lasts longer)

Easy Generators

GeneratorSpawning = 5,
GeneratorFuelConsumption = 0.5,

Scarce Generators

GeneratorSpawning = 1,
GeneratorFuelConsumption = 2.0,

Casual (Never Lose Utilities)

WaterShut = 6,
ElecShut = 6,

Balanced (Lose Utilities After ~1 Month)

WaterShut = 2,
WaterShutModifier = 45,
ElecShut = 2,
ElecShutModifier = 30,
GeneratorSpawning = 3,

Hardcore (Lose Utilities Quickly)

WaterShut = 1,
WaterShutModifier = 7,
ElecShut = 1,
ElecShutModifier = 3,
GeneratorSpawning = 1,
GeneratorFuelConsumption = 2.0,

See also: Sandbox Settings | Configure Your Server

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