What to do in a power cut

MSE_Clare

Hi everyone

We've just published a new guide on What to do in a power cut and we'd love to hear your feedback.

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

Thanks for your help,

MSE Clare

Brie

my suggestion would be that the bit about compensation should be last.  it's more important (at the time) to know what to do and how to prepare.  Compensation, being (hopefully) automatic is less important.

caprikid1

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QrizB

Brie said:

my suggestion would be that the bit about compensation should be last.

I agree, although a mention of compensation early in the article (with a link to more details later) would reassure anyone reading it who wonders "how am I going to pay for this?"

MattMattMattUK

Going through a few of these:

MSE_Clare said:

Keep a torch and spare batteries somewhere easy to reach and make sure everyone in your home knows where they are, in case the power goes out when it’s dark. If you have a smartphone, you can use its torch, but it'll drain your phone's battery faster. Avoid using candles or similar, as these can be a fire risk.

The torch thing is common sense, with regard to the torch on a smartphone, it uses between 2 and 5% of the battery an hour, so a minimal issue. 

MSE_Clare said:

Make sure you have a battery backup for any essential medical equipment, such as stairlifts, bath hoists and adjustable beds, as these typically need electricity to work. If you have a stairlift, check it has a manual release handle - this will return the lift to the ground floor safely, without needing power.

The vast majority of stairlifts do not require a current power supply to operate. They charge at each end where they dock, but use a battery for the actual journey, the manual release is there in case the motor fails. I know it is a film meme but it is not reality.

MSE_Clare said:

If you're concerned what will happen to your medical equipment during a power cut, speak to your healthcare provider or the equipment manufacturer.

The NHS are very good with this, if your example you need an oxygen concentrator at home they will by default supply 72 hours of bottled oxygen to get people through an extended power cut, usually with additional cryogenic oxygen for people to use when out of the house most people will have at least a week's supply, although they may well panic when the power first goes out (experience from family members). Any essential to life equipment will be battery backed up and should be tested regularly. 

MSE_Clare said:

If you keep medication in the fridge consider getting a mini-fridge just for your medication. The longer you keep a fridge or freezer door closed during a power cut, the longer it will stay cold.

Mini fridges are usually very poor insulators and due to their size they have a much higher surface area to volume ratio, meaning they heat up far quicker than full size fridges. One would be better keeping several cool blocks in the freezer and a decent cool box, or just transferring the cool blocks to another container in the fridge that holds the medicine. 

MSE_Clare said:

Write down important phone numbers and keep them somewhere safe, in case your phone line goes down or your mobile phone runs out of battery during a power cut.

If you have a mobile phone, try to keep it fully charged and switch on power-saving mode to preserve the battery. It might be good to get a portable power bank as a back-up.

This is the only part that really matters, as if the phone dies then it is not going to work to make calls anyway. A decent powerbank made by a reputable supplier (Anker, Belkin, UGreen etc.) with enough capacity to charge a phone fully twice costs £12-15. 

MSE_Clare said:

Check if your heating will work. Most gas boilers need electricity to work, so you may not have heating during a power cut. Contact your boiler manufacturer or a Gas Safe engineer to check if your boiler requires electricity to work. If you use a heat pump or electric storage heaters, these won’t work in a power cut as they're powered by electricity.

For pretty much everyone without battery backup the answer is no, open fire/wood burner is pretty much the only option without power as even if the boiler can function without the central heating pump still needs power to circulate heat. Just put on some warm clothes. 

I also agree with others, the immediate talk of compensation is somewhat distasteful, solve the issue first rather than getting grabby. 

Scot_39

To be honest there is a pretty decent chance your local mast will run out of battery backup long before your mobile phone will.

Posts such as this with only some of Ofcoms recent findings are hardly reassuring - note table 7 - by implication some masts will need work to provide even 15 min backup.  And fewer than 5% will last for 6 hours.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2025/02/ofcom-refines-thinking-on-cost-of-adding-power-backup-to-uk-mobile-sites.html

And similar problems existed with FTTC in street green cabinets only lasting say upto 1 hour in may instances - not sure about FTTP though.  If street broadband cabinets - at least for FTTC if not FTTP - so you cannot rely on battery back up / UPS for some digital lines either.

Its part of the reason there is still a lot of unease amongst health, disability and elderly charities etc about the PSTN copper land line switch off.

It may get better with time - but seems clear Ofcom are way behind the curve on sorting a decent secure replacement for PSTN.

Spoonie_Turtle

I agree with putting the part about compensation last because preparing and knowing what to do are more immediately important.  There's already an article outline at the top anyway with links to click to jump to the section, so if people just want to go there without scrolling past the what to do and how to prepare sections, they already can 

For medication, cool blocks in a small insulated bag (maybe even then in the fridge) will keep them cool for longer than a mini-fridge.  Just obviously be careful not to freeze the medication!

I don't know if it belongs in the article but just a general tip for people who have hot water tanks, fill hot water bottles from the hot tap to take advantage of the water while it's still warm.  Add layers of clothing (or just good insulating items) and it will help stave off feeling cold for longer.
People with a gas hob can use a stovetop kettle for hot water bottles and hot drinks.

wrf12345

If you have lots of power tool batteries you can get LED lights and USB converters for next to nowt on aliexpress.

zxzxzx

Torch by the fuse box. Wind up torch/radio, small calor burner, torches and rechargeable batteries (regularly recharged) in a box in my garage ready to go.

tacpot12

This will only apply to a small number of modern/modernised properties, but where the ventilation to the home is provided by a MVHR system and that home is known to have a very small number of air changes per hour (ACH), a couple of windows on opposite ends of the house should be opened to ensure that oxygen levels in the property does reduce to dangerous levels.

MattMattMattUK

tacpot12 said:

This will only apply to a small number of modern/modernised properties, but where the ventilation to the home is provided by a MVHR system and that home is known to have a very small number of air changes per hour (ACH), a couple of windows on opposite ends of the house should be opened to ensure that oxygen levels in the property does reduce to dangerous levels.

Not needed at all.

For a small flat of 50 square meters with a 2.4 m high ceiling giving a volume of 120 cubic meters. If the property was entirely airtight, hermetically sealed, then the oxygen would last 3-4 days with one adult occupant, however CO2 buildup would start to feel uncomfortable after around two days and lethal after three, however no home is hermetically sealed so there would still be a level of gas exchange going on, likely impossible for oxygen to deplete or CO2 to reach uncomfortable levels unless there are more than ten people in a very well sealed, small property. This is entirely a non-issue.