Preparing for a power outage

Almost everything in modern daily life depends on electricity, often including things you would not expect. A gas or oil boiler needs power for its controls and pump, a high-rise building needs pumps to push water upwards, and cash machines, tills and petrol pumps are electric. Mobile masts and exchanges often have backup power, but it usually lasts only for a limited time.

A power outage therefore acts like a row of dominoes: one failure brings down several others. Preparedness starts right there. You secure the five most important functions independently of the grid in advance: light, information, communication, payment and warmth. Add water, food that needs no cooking and medication according to your authority's recommendations.

The most important step is an honest inventory. Walk once through your flat or house and ask for each device: what happens if this fails? Electric shutters, the garage door, the door intercom, the heating pump, a stairlift or a medical device quickly end up on the list. For each item, note whether you need a substitute or can simply do without it.

It is just as important that things can be found and are ready when it matters. A torch lying somewhere in a box in the cellar is of little help in the dark. Keep lights in a fixed place everyone knows. Keep power banks charged rather than empty in a cupboard, and write phone numbers on paper, because a flat battery makes every stored number unreachable.

Cash in small notes and coins is an often-forgotten point. When tills and card terminals fail, some shops can still sell for cash – but change is often scarce then.

Many accidents during an outage are caused not by the outage itself but by dangerous improvised solutions. Candles are a common cause of fires; battery or rechargeable lights are the safer choice. Grills, charcoal, camping stoves, patio heaters and generators produce carbon monoxide and never belong indoors, not in a garage or cellar either, and not with a window open.

Anyone who depends on electrically powered medical devices, such as ventilation, an oxygen concentrator or home dialysis, must clarify in advance with their doctor, care service or device supplier what to do in an outage. A general supplies list does not replace this conversation. In danger, always call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

Unplug or switch off sensitive devices and leave one single lamp switched on. That way you notice when the power returns and protect your devices from surges when the power comes back.

Hold a small “power-cut evening” once: deliberately switch off the lights for an hour or two and use only your emergency equipment. You quickly notice whether everyone can find a light, whether the radio works and whether you know the frequency of your regional station. Children often find such an exercise exciting, and it helps them lose their fear of the dark.

Also set a fixed check date, for example when the clocks change in spring and autumn. Then you test batteries, recharge power banks, look at the expiry dates of supplies and medication and update the phone list.

Most power outages are short and over within minutes or a few hours. Preparedness is still worth it because it makes the difference in long, widespread outages. Then many people need help at once, and authorities and rescue services have to concentrate on the most urgent cases.

How much water and food you should keep is deliberately not stated here. Your own authority's recommendations apply, for example those of the BBK in Germany or Ready.gov in the USA. Backup-power systems that are permanently connected to household wiring belong exclusively in the hands of a qualified electrician.