as NoD says "it is easy to say "automatically switch AC busses"...." however it is understandable for a poor little AC1 coming across say an A380 in the dark and "Flinching..."
English may not be as poetic as the romantic languages, but the media certainly try.
Boeing and Airbus products (sundry versions of each) have achieved the "dark cockpit" (OK, sometime Bright Cockpit... sans displays), for various root causes
Was, is, and shall be a problem for crews to confront for the forseeable future. Current training matrix normally relegate stby instrument training to a low priority or none at all. Personally, I like flying with the ISFD stby system which has it's own internal power, rather than the conventional ships battery power stby instruments.
all the best, from the resolute desk...