Planning the first hour of a power outage at home
What to do in the first hour of a power outage: confirm the scope, light the house safely, keep doors closed, and check on neighbors and anyone who needs help.
In the first hour of a power outage, three things matter most: staying safe, lighting the house without fire or fumes, and checking on the people around you. Most other tasks can wait until the situation is clear. Work through them in order, and keep a note of what you did and when.
Many outages are short and local, but the first hour is when small mistakes do the most damage. Someone opens the fridge again and again, lights a candle near the curtains, or starts a generator in the garage. A calm, short list prevents those problems before they start.
A first-steps card to keep with the flashlight
Print this card and keep it with your flashlight, so the first steps are at hand when the house is dark:
- Confirm whether the outage is local, and check the breaker panel.
- Report the outage and write down the time it started.
- Set out flashlights or lanterns, and use battery or rechargeable lights first.
- Keep the fridge and freezer closed, and switch off large appliances.
- Check on neighbors and anyone who relies on medical equipment.
Work out what has happened
Start by checking whether the outage is limited to your home. Look out the window for streetlights and neighbors' lights. Then open the breaker panel and look for a tripped breaker. If one has tripped, reset it once, but only if you know what caused it, such as a space heater that was running alongside a hair dryer. If the breaker trips again right away, leave it off and call an electrician rather than resetting it repeatedly.
Report the outage to your utility company, which will usually have an outage map and a phone line for reporting. Write down the time the power went out. That detail helps the utility estimate restoration and gives you a record if food or equipment is affected. If you see a downed power line, treat it as live. Stay well back, at least 30 feet, keep others away, and call the utility or emergency services. Do not touch the line or anything it is touching.
Light the house safely
Get light in place before dusk. Put a flashlight or battery lantern in each room you use most, and keep a headlamp or flashlight near the main exits and at the top and bottom of the stairs. Test each light before you need it. Avoid candles near curtains, bedding, and paper, and never leave a lit candle in a room where nobody is present. Never use a gas oven, a camp stove, or a grill indoors for light or heat, because they can produce carbon monoxide.
If a storm is in the forecast, charge phones, power banks, and rechargeable lamps while the power still works, and keep a power bank in the kitchen and the bedroom if you have one. Once the power is out, save phone battery by lowering screen brightness, closing apps you are not using, and turning off Bluetooth and location services. Use a power bank for the devices you need most, such as the phone you would use to call for help.
Leave one lamp switched on so you notice the moment the power returns. When it does, wait a few minutes before restoring anything, then turn appliances back on one at a time, starting with the most important. A sudden surge of restarted appliances can trip breakers.
Keep the house closed and the temperature steady
Keep exterior doors closed to hold in cool or warm air, and keep the fridge and freezer shut. In summer, close blinds on sun-facing windows to slow heat gain. In winter, open blinds on sunny windows during the day to let in warmth, then close them at dusk. Shut off rooms you do not use, and put on layers rather than turning on the stove or oven for heat.
Switch off or unplug major appliances, such as the oven, the dishwasher, and large electronics, so they do not all restart at once when the power comes back. A surge protector helps with spikes, but it does not stop a sudden load of many devices restarting together, so turning off the heavy users is still the better step. A backup-powered space heater needs the same care as any heater, so keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from it and do not leave it running unattended. For anything that burns fuel, follow the carbon monoxide rule in the lighting section, which applies to heat as well as light.
Check on neighbors and anyone who needs help
Knock on the doors of neighbors who may need help, especially older adults, people who live alone, and families with young children or pets. Ask whether they have what they need for the next few hours, and offer help with light, water, or a ride if it is safe to do so. Keep the visit brief, and call emergency services if someone seems confused, injured, or unwell.
If someone in your home relies on electrically powered medical equipment, such as an oxygen concentrator or a CPAP machine, plan for that before the outage happens. Ask the equipment supplier or the prescribing doctor what backup they recommend and how long the device can run on battery. Many utilities keep a list of customers with medical needs, so check whether yours offers one and sign up if it does.
Once the first steps are done, settle into a steady pace. Keep a simple log of what you have done, starting with the time the power went out. If you need to open the fridge or freezer for food, glance at an appliance thermometer only while the door is already open, and see the food-safety guidance for the fridge and freezer before deciding what to keep. Outages can last longer than the first hour, and a clear record of that first hour makes the rest of the outage easier to manage, whether you are talking with the utility or a neighbor.