Power cuts are truly annoying at best and can be hugely disruptive at worst. If the power goes out for a few minutes, perhaps even an hour, then you can deal with it, but it won’t be great. If the power goes out for longer, perhaps many hours or even a day, things start to get a lot more challenging. 

In the past, a power cut might not have been so disruptive. Yes, your fridge and freezer would have been affected, and you wouldn’t have been able to watch TV or perhaps listen to the radio (assuming you didn’t use a battery-powered one), but today, things are much worse. After all, you need electricity to power your wifi, and if you work from home, you’ll find you can’t get anything done. Or maybe you have an electric car, and you can’t charge it, which means you can’t drive anywhere, for example. We use electricity far more today than we ever have, which is why you need to be ready for a power cut so it doesn’t affect you so much. Read on to find out what to do. 

Photo by Anete Lusina from Pexels

Create A Power Outage Kit 

A power outage or power cut kit is a great way to be completely prepared for a power cut, even if the power cut itself is unexpected! Put a kit together that has everything you’ll need to be able to stay safe during a power outage, and keep it somewhere everyone in the family knows where to find it. 

So, what should be included in this kit? The first thing you’ll want is a torch and plenty of extra batteries – try to find an LED torch because the light they give off is great, and they’re long-lasting, so you should be fine no matter how long the power is off for. 

Something else to include is candles and matches. Although candles won’t be as bright as your torch, they can be useful when it comes to lighting a room efficiently. Of course, you do need to be very careful when you’re lighting candles, and you should never leave them unattended, so make sure everyone in the household knows the rules to prevent any accidents that could turn into major disasters. 

You can also have a portable phone charger like a power bank or solar charger so you can keep mobile devices charged up. You might be able to get some work done in this way, or keep yourself and the family occupied with videos and games. At the very least, you’ll be able to keep in touch with friends and family and access information about the power outage to give you a rough timeframe of when the power will be back on. 

It’s also wise to include some food and water in the kit, although do remember this has to be non-perishable food. Tinned food, cereal bars, and so on are a great option as you won’t need to cook anything or heat anything up, and it won’t have to be refrigerated either. If you don’t have this little store of food, you might have to go hungry, and that’s only going to make matters worse. And don’t forget, if your tin opener is an electric one, have a manual one in the kit otherwise you can’t get to the food! 

Finally, it’s a good idea to include a first aid kit with plasters, bandages, antiseptic wipes, and painkillers in it – it’s so easy to have an accident when the lights are out, and it’s worth having some supples to help, just in case. 

Invest In Backup Power Sources

Your power cut kit is sure to be very useful, and it will certainly help you get through a few hours without power, but if this is a regular thing in your area and the outages can last for a long time, it could be worth investigating – and investing in – backup power sources. When you’ve got a backup in place, a power cut won’t cause any problems at all, as you’ll still be able to function as normal, and your life won’t be disrupted. 

One option is a portable generator, which can provide power to your home on a temporary basis (temporary because it uses fuel to power it, so it’s only going to work while the fuel lasts – as soon as that runs out, the generator will shut down). These can be fantastic devices to help you keep your home powered, but they’re also potentially dangerous, so you need to know exactly how to use one, and you must have fuel on hand, otherwise it won’t make any difference as you won’t be able to use your generator. 

Another option is to join a virtual power plant. When you’re part of a virtual power plant, your electricity supply is a lot more reliable and stable because you’ll be using various energy sources, including stored energy and solar power. Basically, your home will be powered by whatever energy there’s most of at the time, giving you an uninterrupted power source – if one cuts out, you’ll be switched to another source, ensuring you barely even notice there was an issue. 

If you add solar panels to your home as well, you’ll have the best of both worlds, and power outages will essentially be a thing of the past. 

Have A Family Emergency Plan

If the power is out for longer than you expect and it’s going to cause major problems, having a family emergency plan you can implement is a great idea. Make sure you have a designated meeting point if you have to leave your home, for example, so that anyone who’s at work or school knows where to go. You should also have emergency contacts and make sure everyone has the phone numbers. 

Then you can also create an exit plan for your home, letting the family know where the best exits are and helping them get out even when it’s completely dark. Most of the time, you won’t have to leave the house during a power cut, especially if you have a power cut kit to help see you through, but if the outage is part of a bigger problem like a natural disaster or major incident, then being able to get out of the house safely and knowing where to meet and who to call could be vital.