STOCKWISEPrepared for less.

Be ready

Power cut

Most power cuts are short-lived and occur locally. Gas ovens, boilers, heat pumps and home internet won't work without power, and a mobile may stop if the local mast is affected.

Before

  1. Keep a battery or wind-up torch, and spare batteries, where you can find it in the dark. Torches are safer than candles. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts
  2. Keep a battery or wind-up radio for updates, and write down the frequencies of the stations you use for news. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts
  3. Write down 105, the free number to report a power cut in England, Scotland and Wales (03457 643643 in Northern Ireland), and save it in your phone. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts
  4. Keep a charged power bank to charge phones or compatible medical devices. GOV.UK Be Ready
  5. Keep at least three days' bottled water (3 litres per person per day) and food that needs no cooking, plus a tin opener. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts
  6. Keep a small amount of cash for essentials, in case card payments and cash machines are disrupted. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts
  7. If you're eligible, sign up to your energy supplier's Priority Services Register; many households are, including those with children under 5. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts
  8. If a landline is your only way to call 999, or you have telecare on it, ask your provider whether it works in a power cut and about a back-up battery. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts
  9. Find your load block letter at powercut105.com, in case emergency rota cuts are ever scheduled. GOV.UK Be Ready: power cuts

During

  1. Report it and track updates on your network operator's website, or call 105 (free). Find your operator by postcode at powercut105.com. Power Cut 105
  2. Do not use a barbecue or camping stove indoors or inside a tent. Portable generators can produce carbon monoxide too: it is colourless, does not smell and can make you seriously ill. NHS: carbon monoxide poisoning
  3. If you think an appliance is leaking carbon monoxide, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 and open all doors and windows. HSE: carbon monoxide
  4. Check in on neighbours who might need extra help. Power Cut 105

Find out more

  1. Cold homes: blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothing, because a house cools quickly when the heating is off. GOV.UK Be Ready

Kit for this

Best-value eBay listings for the items this checklist mentions, by class. Prices checked 4 Nov, 22:54 UTC.

Torchesfrom £5 · 19 buys at the last checkHead torchesfrom £5.15 · 31 buys at the last checkLanternsfrom £5.18 · 19 buys at the last checkPower banksfrom £8.49 · 12 buys at the last checkPower stationsfrom £84.99 · 18 buys at the last checkRadiosfrom £8.29 · 15 buys at the last checkBlanketsfrom £2.10 · 21 buys at the last check

Food that keeps for years

The checklist asks for food that needs no cooking: tins and packets you already eat cover that. For a store that keeps for years, Food stores has five hand-picked freeze-dried buckets and bags, with how long each lasts and what a day costs worked out. They need boiling water.

See Food stores

Information, not advice. Every line links to the official source it comes from; follow that source and the instructions of the emergency services first.