
How To Make A Power Outage Manageable
How To Make A Power Outage Manageable
If your power has been cut, sitting in the dark should be a last resort. These 10 recommendations
will show you how to make a power outage manageable. If you have been the victim of a storm or a
cyclone, then there is a chance you will be without power for a few days. The power may not come
back on immediately.
It is always handy to have a backup for these situations. For example, your air conditioning will shut
down and if you live in a warm country, that alone can make the power cut unbearable. As well, your
food will begin to defrost, prompting bacteria to grow on it and you having to throw it all in the bin.
1. Pay attention to the weather conditions that normally accompany the different times of the
year. So the weather may impact your plans somewhat. Take into consideration how long
it will take to get to your local hospital. Likewise, if you live in city you will face different
problems to those who live in the countryside.
2. Make sure you have enough staple foods available. Eat any fresh food before it has the
chance to decline and needs to be thrown away.
3. Have a supply of foods that won’t need to be cooked.
• Before it becomes dangerous to do so, eat all your fresh food. It’s handy to have
some crackers and cookies for the kids. Some foods that will not perish include
juices, potatoes, soup and fish. However, it is usually best to have plenty of tinned
food.
• Keep all items in the fridge close together. This will stop the food from reaching
room temperature quickly. Your food will start to spoil once it reaches room
temperature. However, after a blackout the food will remain cold for a short time.
Therefore, keep the fridge door closed for as long as possible.
4. Keep some matches handy to light your barbeque. This may be the only way you can cook if
the power will be cut for a long period of time. However, do no bring the barbeque inside as
that can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
5. Homes that are powered by natural gas should have a gas powered fire to keep warm. Have
some fans and water available to keep cool. Anyone that has a wood powered stove should
have plenty of wood.
6. If your power cut is going to last more than two hours, then don’t use standby lights.
However, once the power goes out you can get safety lights that will automatically switch
on.
• Make sure you have plenty of batteries as the power in safety lights is known to die
pretty fast.
• LED lights tend to last for a longer time, so if may be worthwhile to have some LED
security lights just in case.
• The kitchen and the bathroom are the most used rooms in all houses. So it is
advisable to prepare these two rooms first before you place the security rooms
around the entire house.
7. Take a trip to mall, catch a movie or go for a meal to pass the time, providing the whole area
hasn’t been affected by the power cut.
• If it’s dark then it’s best to stay inside. If you’re snowed in, then that’s your only
reason for staying at home during a power cut.
8. Talk to each other, sing songs or play outside to pass time. You will need to be cautious
when moving around during a power cut. Therefore, it is advisable to have a torch handy.
Equipment powered by electricity, such as TVs won’t work so you will need to find
something else to pass the time.
• The best thing to do is to sleep when it’s dark. Once it’s bright and you have nothing
to do, then read a book.
9. An electric tin opener won’t work during a power cut, so you should keep a manual one to
open tinned food. Having a battery operated camping lamp will also help to keep your room
well-lit during the blackout.
10. Have a battery powered radio so you can keep up-to-date with the news. A battery powered
cell charger is also handy to keep in these situations.
This article was written by Brian Madden; Virtual Advertising Associate at Crown Gas and Power. I
frequently write articles about the utilities trade. Connect with me on Google+ by visiting this link
https://plus.google.com/u/0/101454832490662946550/posts.


8 Comments
Mia
Great tips! I’ve gotta remember these the next time there’s a power outage.
Marti Parks
These are great tips. Another great tip is that when you have a hurricane or storm on the way and know it’s likely to cause a power outage, you should turn your fridge and freezer to the coldest settings. They will stay cold longer and keep your food fresh longer.
Dorothy Teel
These are some helpful hints and ideas of what to do with a power outage. If you live in an area that is prone to power outages, storms, winds, and tornadoes might be wise to invest in a generator and use it outside to power essential equipment, refrigerator, freezer, computer (lol) keep emergency flashlight in each room where you know where it is at as you don’t know where you will be when power goes out. If you use candle put them in a safe place so if they get knocked over or windows blow curtains, etc they won’t catch fire. Don’t panic..
Karen Glatt
These are excellent ideas on how to manage a power outage. It is so important to and I have a lot of these items to have in a power outage, such as a can opener, matches, books and a flashlight. Also, I never thought about going to the mall and getting away from home for awhile. That is a great idea~!
Kathy Lane
These are great tips! Where I live my power goes off quite often.One time it was off for 7 days we lost everything in our fridge and freezer.Sense that time we have bought a generator,but we have not had to use it yet.I keep flashlights in every room,and have lanterns to use too.
Nicole Sender
Very complete list of what to do. I have a battery run emergency radio that will also run on a hand powered source.
Cheryl Fisher
Our power did shut down in late June during one of the hottest spells in summer around here. The power was out for three days. I thought I was going nuts. So I had to buy a generator to save the fish tank and to keep the fridge going. Good tips if this happens again.
Lalena
We had a city wide power outage when I lived in San Diego a couple years ago and I would’ve never thought about any of these tips! Thanks so much!