The direct answer
Prepare torches, charged communications, warm layers and a written plan for essential powered equipment; during an outage, check whether neighbours are affected and contact the correct electricity network operator.
Immediate danger? Call 999. During an incident, follow current emergency-service, public-health, local-authority and utility instructions.
What to prepare now
Prioritise safe light, information, warmth and the equipment on which people depend.
- Keep battery or wind-up torches and tested spare batteries where they can be reached in darkness. Torches are safer than candles.
- Charge phones and power banks, keep a battery or wind-up radio and write important contacts on paper.
- For England, Scotland and Wales, check whether anyone qualifies for the free Priority Services Register; Northern Ireland uses Customer Care Register and Medical Customer Care Register arrangements.
- Know which essential devices need electricity and how long their manufacturer-approved backup actually lasts.
The first five minutes
Establish whether the problem appears limited to the property or affects the wider network, without approaching electrical hazards.
- Check safely whether neighbours or street lighting are also affected and whether a trip switch has operated inside the home.
- Contact the electricity network operator—not automatically the energy supplier—when the wider network is affected.
- 105 covers England, Scotland and Wales; 03457 643643 is the Northern Ireland Electricity Networks number.
- Stay away from damaged or fallen power lines and call 999 when there is immediate danger.
Light, heat, phones and information
Use stored power deliberately and do not turn combustion equipment into an indoor emergency workaround.
- Use torches for light, preserve phone charge and expect mobile and internet service to degrade during a wider outage.
- Keep fridge and freezer doors closed. Switch off risky hot appliances and unplug sensitive equipment; leave one light on so you know when supply returns.
- Never use a barbecue, camping stove or portable generator indoors. Carbon monoxide cannot be seen, smelled or tasted and can kill.
- Keep warm with clothing, bedding and a safe room plan rather than improvising unventilated fuel-burning heat.
Powered medical and mobility equipment
Registration can improve communication and support, but it does not guarantee uninterrupted power or a generator.
- Make a specific powered medical or mobility equipment plan with the clinical or care team and the equipment provider.
- Confirm battery duration under realistic use, how to recharge safely and what action to take before backup runs low.
- Tell the electricity network operator and supplier about relevant needs in Great Britain; use the applicable Northern Ireland register and operator route in Northern Ireland.
- Keep device instructions, care contacts and the agreed fallback on paper where another person can follow them.
Food and medicine decisions
Temperature, appliance performance and product instructions matter more than one memorable clock.
- Use the current official Food Standards Agency guidance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or Food Standards Scotland guidance in Scotland.
- There is no universal fridge or freezer discard time. Treat published durations as estimates because door opening, room temperature and appliance performance change the result.
- Use a fridge thermometer when available and follow official food decision guidance rather than tasting food to test safety.
- For temperature-sensitive medicine, follow the manufacturer, pharmacist, clinical team or current NHS advice; do not invent a universal medicine time.
When power returns
A controlled restoration reduces sudden load and makes faults easier to notice.
- Confirm supply appears stable, then turn essential appliances back on one at a time rather than reconnecting everything together.
- Reset clocks, alarms and heating controls, and inspect any appliance that behaved unexpectedly before relying on it.
- Do not connect a generator to household wiring yourself; any such connection requires a qualified electrician and compliant equipment.
- Review food and medicine using the appropriate current official guidance before returning them to normal use.
Printable power-cut review
Recheck the plan after each outage and when seasons, equipment or household needs change.
- Test torches, rotate batteries by their labels and confirm the power bank charges.
- Verify the correct network-operator number, register details and powered-equipment contact plan.
- Record what failed during the last outage and make one practical improvement rather than assuming the next cut will behave the same way.
Carry the plan with you
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Sources and editorial boundary
Prepper Hollow editorial team
Reviewed 2026-08-15
Substantially modified 2026-08-15
Source reviewed, not independently medically reviewed
- UK Government Prepare (Cabinet Office): Power cuts
Torch preference, outage contacts, appliance precautions, connectivity loss and safe actions during power cuts.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - UK Government Prepare (Cabinet Office): Advice for disabled persons and carers
Planning for medication, care, powered equipment, mobility, communication, check-ins and assistance animals.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - Ofgem: Plan for a power cut
Great Britain network-operator contacts, planning for medical dependence and checking backup-battery duration.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - Ofgem: Join your supplier’s Priority Services Register
Free Priority Services Register support in Great Britain, eligibility and the limits of support promises.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - Northern Ireland Electricity Networks: Help, advice and contact information for our customers
Northern Ireland outage contact details and Medical Customer Care Register terminology.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - Food Standards Agency: Food safety in emergencies
Temperature-led food decisions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and why quoted appliance times are estimates.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - Food Standards Scotland: Power cuts
Scottish food-safety decisions during power cuts and the prohibition on indoor barbecue use.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - UK Health Security Agency: Carbon monoxide: general information
Carbon-monoxide hazards from portable generators, barbecues and other combustion appliances used indoors.
Accessed 2026-08-15 - SP Energy Networks: What to do in a Power Cut
Practical appliance precautions during an outage and staged restoration when electricity returns.
Accessed 2026-08-15