What to do during a power outage

In the first few minutes

• Look outside. If the neighbors still have lights, check your breaker panel before you call anyone. A tripped main breaker looks like an outage.
• Report the outage to your utility, by phone, app or website. Don’t assume someone else already did. Most utilities also post an outage map with an estimated restoration time.
• Use flashlights or battery candles. The CPSC recommends them over real candles, which start fires.
• Turn off or unplug appliances and electronics. Ready.gov warns that power can come back with surges that damage equipment. Leave one lamp switched on so you know when the power returns.
• Stay away from downed power lines and anything touching them, and report them to the utility or 911.

Protect the food

A closed refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours and a full freezer for about 48 hours. Keep both doors shut and plan meals around the pantry first. The food safety guide covers what to keep and what to throw out afterward.

Water, if you’re on a well

A well pump needs electricity, so a well home loses running water along with the lights. Fill pitchers and the bathtub (for flushing) if the outage has just started and the pressure tank still holds some water. Many well pumps run on 240 V, which a power station with only 120 V outlets can’t supply. The well pump page shows what yours needs.

If your basement relies on a sump pump and it’s raining, the pump stops with the power. A sump pump is one of the first things worth putting on backup power.

Medical devices and medicine

Ready.gov advises having a backup plan for medical devices that need power and for refrigerated medicine. If someone in the house uses a CPAP, oxygen concentrator or other powered device:

• Switch to its battery or your backup power now, while you still have time to make other arrangements.
• If the backup won’t last, contact the device supplier or your doctor, or go to a place with power.
• If the power was out for more than a day, throw out medicine that needs refrigeration unless the label says otherwise, and ask a pharmacist for a replacement (Ready.gov).

The CPAP page lists sourced figures for how much a CPAP draws.

Staying warm or cool safely

• Never use a gas stove or oven to heat your home. Ready.gov lists carbon monoxide, fire and burn risks.
• Never burn charcoal indoors or in a garage, even with the door open (CPSC).
• Keep a space heater at least 3 feet from beds, curtains, furniture and anything else that burns, plug it straight into a wall outlet (no power strips), and never leave it running unattended (CPSC). An electric space heater also drains a power station faster than almost anything else you could plug in.
• If the heat or cold is extreme, go to a warming or cooling center. Local officials announce where they are.

If you run a generator

• Run it outside only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from buildings. Never run it in a garage, basement, crawlspace or shed, or on a porch or carport, even with doors and windows open (CPSC).
• Plug appliances into the generator with heavy-duty outdoor extension cords. Never plug the generator into a wall or dryer outlet to power the house. That’s called backfeeding, and it can electrocute utility workers (CPSC).
• Turn it off and let it cool before refueling. Gasoline spilled on a hot engine can ignite.
• Have working carbon monoxide alarms inside. If one sounds, get everyone outside and call 911. If anyone feels sick, dizzy or weak while the generator runs, get to fresh air right away (CPSC).

The safety guides cover each of these in more detail: carbon monoxide, running a generator in the rain and backfeeding and interlock kits.

A battery power station has no exhaust and can run indoors. It works for phones, a Wi-Fi router, lights, a CPAP and, with enough capacity, a refrigerator.

When the power comes back

• Check the fridge and freezer thermometers before you eat anything. Throw out food that sat at 40°F or above for 2 hours or more, or that has an odd smell, color or texture. When in doubt, throw it out.
• Plug things back in a few at a time rather than all at once.