Blackout Preparation

What happens when the lights go out? We’re not talking here about a sudden loss of consciousness – though the effects of a power outage can often have pretty much as unsettling an impact.

When there’s a power failure and we lose electricity for any length of time, the blackout doesn’t just mean the lights going out. Along with the lights, we’re also likely to have the fridge and freezer go down, any electric heating goes off, internet access may be compromised, and there is an almost certain failure in communication capabilities.

How is all that going to affect you? As a prepper, of course, you’ll want to do all that you can to endure any such blackout. Here are some tips for doing just that.

Before

As with so many challenges you’re likely to face in emergency situations, it’s what you do beforehand – to prepare for the unexpected – that can make all the difference. Here, are some of the things you can be doing right now, so that you are better prepared for if/when a blackout happens:

• energy supplier Western Power Distribution, for instance, suggests that you stock up on torches and the batteries you’ll need for them – and try to avoid the added fire risks of candles and paraffin heaters;

• in the same readily accessible storage space keep a wind-up (battery or solar-powered) radio so that you continue to get news updates about the blackout and any associated developments;

• remember that many of your landlines – especially newer cordless and digital receivers – won’t work when the electricity goes down, so keep your mobile phones fully charged and an older-style plug-in landline to hand, advises UK Power Networks;

• talk to your neighbours – especially the elderly or vulnerable – about their own plans for enduring a blackout, make sure they are going to be comfortable, and consider sharing any gas supplies for the provision of hot water and cooking;

• share your own and other useful telephone numbers with neighbours – especially those who might be living alone;

• if you are lucky enough to get some warning about an imminent blackout, suggests Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, boil up some water in advance, and store it in as many thermos flasks as you can lay your hands on – the ability to make a hot drink still might brighten the darkest of waits for the power to come back on;

During

• do a quick check to see how widespread the blackout is – do your neighbours still have lights, the rest of the street, or perhaps it’s just a fuse in your own supply that’s blown;

• leave just one light switched on – so you know when the power comes back on – but turn off all other appliances, especially sensitive devices such as computers;

• keep the freezer door closed and open the fridge as little as possible – the American FDA estimates that inside your fridge will stay cold for up to four hours if you keep the door closed and that a full freezer will keep food frozen for up to 48 hours (depending on the make and energy efficiency of the appliance);

• if you have no access to a gas cooker, consider breaking open the BBQ in the garden;

• in homes that rely on a stairlift, this will stop working during a blackout and you might need to get it to ground level by working a manual release handle (unless a backup battery automatically kicks in when the power goes down) – make sure you know how any release handle works and help any elderly neighbours to do that;

After

• when the power’s back on and things are returning to normal, see where you struggled or might have done things differently;

• consider whether you lacked any equipment that might have helped you endure the blackout better – and invest in it for use the next time.

In the UK, blackouts are mercifully fairly short-lived and it’s more than possible to endure them without too much discomfort or inconvenience.

But that might not always be the case, of course, and being prepared means being ready to take on and endure the challenges of any blackouts and power outages that the future might spring upon us.