Power Outage Preparedness Checklist: Before, During, and After

Most outages last a few hours, but storms, heat waves, and wildfire shutoffs can leave homes without power for days. A little preparation makes a long outage far safer and less stressful. Use this checklist to get ready.

Before an outage

Power and lighting

• List the devices you must keep running: refrigerator, medical devices, phones, internet, lights.
• Size a backup power source for those essentials with our backup power calculator.
• Keep power stations charged and test them every few months.
• Stock flashlights and LED lanterns with spare batteries. Avoid candles where possible.
• Keep phone chargers and power banks charged before storms.

Safety

• Install battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms on every level of your home.
• Learn how to manually open your garage door.
• Know where your main electrical panel and water shutoff are.
• If you have a fuel generator, plan where it will run: outdoors, far from doors, windows, and vents.

Food, water, and medicine

• Store drinking water and shelf-stable food for several days.
• Put appliance thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer.
• Keep a supply of essential medications, and know which ones need refrigeration.
• If you use powered medical equipment, make a plan with your provider and ask your utility about medical-needs programs.

Information

• Sign up for your utility's outage alerts and local emergency alerts.
• Keep a battery-powered or hand-crank radio.
• Keep some cash on hand, since card readers may not work.

During an outage

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
• Unplug sensitive electronics to protect them from surges when power returns.
• Run backup power only for essentials, and recharge from solar during the day.
• Never run a generator, grill, or camp stove indoors or in a garage, even with the door open.
• Never connect a generator to your home's wiring without a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician.
• Report the outage to your utility and check on neighbors, especially older adults.
• If your home gets dangerously hot or cold, go to a cooling or warming center.

After the power returns

• Check food temperatures. Discard perishable food that has been above 40 °F for more than 2 hours.
• Plug electronics back in gradually.
• Recharge your power stations and replace used batteries and supplies.
• Note what worked and what did not, and update your plan.

Keep learning

Read how long a power station will run a refrigerator, how to power a CPAP during an outage, and our solar vs. gas generator safety comparison.

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