The issue with batteries, at least within the context of this show, isn't storage life or availability. According to the show, or at least what's been made available about it so far, batteries ceased working at the initial "event." Apparently everything electronic or electric simply stopped working.

Actually, it turns out batteries were mentioned in the Revolution trailer, not an interview (at least that I've found again). Around the 1:10 mark the narrator says: "... but after the blackout nothing worked ... not even car engines or jet turbines, hell even batteries ... all of it gone forever ..."

Oh, and apparently the blackout also caused passenger jets in mid-flight to loose all horizontal momentum and fall straight to the ground like rocks.

This is why figure this show, like many, will require a healthy dose of suspended disbelief. After all TV guys are worried about creating a good story, not technological realism.