The first ten minutes
- Check whether it is only your home. Look at your breaker panel for a tripped main breaker. Then look outside: are the neighbours and street lights dark too?
- Report it and check the outage map. Use your utility's app, website or phone line on mobile data. Do not assume someone else has reported it.
- Stay away from downed lines. Treat every fallen wire as live. Keep well back and call the utility or emergency services.
- Find your lights. Use flashlights or battery lanterns. Avoid candles, which are a common cause of house fires during outages.
The next twenty minutes
- Keep the fridge and freezer shut. Write the time the power went out on a note and stick it to the door. A closed fridge keeps food safe for about 4 hours.
- Unplug sensitive electronics. Computers, televisions and game consoles can be damaged by a surge when power returns. Leave one lamp switched on so you know when it is back.
- Switch off heat-producing appliances. Turn off the stove, oven, iron and any space heaters that were running, so they do not come back on unattended.
- Check on people who depend on power. Anyone using oxygen, a CPAP machine, a powered wheelchair or refrigerated medicine needs a plan now, not in hour six.
Before the hour is up
- Save your phone battery. Lower the screen brightness, close video apps and turn on low-power mode. Texts use less power than calls.
- Decide what you will power. If you have a power station or generator, connect the essentials first: fridge, freezer, modem and medical devices.
- Set up a generator outdoors only. Place it at least 20 feet (6 m) from the house with the exhaust pointing away, and check that your carbon monoxide alarms work.
- In cold weather, hold the heat in. Close doors to unused rooms, cover windows at night and gather everyone in one room.
How long things last without power
| Item | Roughly how long | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge contents | About 4 hours | Keep the door shut |
| Full freezer | About 48 hours | Keep it shut; group items together |
| Half-full freezer | About 24 hours | Fill gaps with jugs of water before storm season |
| Mobile phone | A day or more with care | Low-power mode; a power bank or car charger |
| Home internet | Stops at once without backup | A small power station runs a modem and router for many hours |
Things not to do
- Do not run a generator, barbecue or camp stove indoors or in a garage, even with the door open.
- Do not use a gas oven or stovetop to heat the house.
- Do not plug a generator into a wall outlet.
- Do not open the fridge to check on things.
A kit worth keeping ready
Keep these together where you can find them in the dark: a flashlight for each person, spare batteries, a charged power bank, a battery or hand-crank radio, a fridge thermometer, bottled water, food that needs no cooking, a manual can opener, a first-aid kit and a printed list of phone numbers.
Sources
- Ready.gov: Power Outages
- Government of Canada: how to prepare for power outages
- FoodSafety.gov: food safety during a power outage
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission: carbon monoxide and generator safety
Related
Reviewed October 2026 by Lee Palmer. This guide is general information, not professional advice. Suggest a correction.