If the power goes off, report it on 105, keep the fridge and freezer doors shut, use a torch rather than a candle, and never cook or heat with a camping stove, barbecue or generator indoors. For a cut that lasts a few days you need six things at home: light, a radio, a way to charge your phone, water, food you can eat cold, and warmth.
Most power cuts are short. The government's Prepare guidance asks households to be ready for an emergency lasting a few days, and a three-day power cut is a sensible length to plan for. This guide covers what to do when the lights go out, what to do about the fridge, how to stay safe, and what a three-day kit looks like, including what our own customers actually buy.
When the power goes off
- Check whether it's only your home. Look at whether the neighbours' lights are out too. If only your home is affected, check your fuse box or consumer unit before assuming it's a network fault.
- Call 105. It's free from mobiles and landlines in England, Scotland and Wales, and puts you through to your local electricity network operator. In Northern Ireland the number is 03457 643643. Write it on paper now, because you may not be able to look it up later.
- Use a torch, not a candle. The Prepare guidance says torches are safer than candles, and a torch is one less thing to knock over in the dark.
- Keep the fridge and freezer doors closed. Every time you open them, the cold gets out (more on this below).
- If someone at home needs extra support, ask about the free Priority Services Register (thepsr.co.uk). It lets your network operator know you may need help during a cut.
Information and your phone
Your router won't work without power, and mobile networks can be busy, so a battery or wind-up radio is the most dependable way to hear what's happening. Tune it to your BBC Local Radio station on FM and write the frequency on the radio now, while you can still look it up. Keep a portable power bank charged for your phone.
A radio that also charges a phone does both jobs. The Midland ER300 Pro charges by USB-C, hand crank or solar, and has a 10,000 mAh battery that Midland says can charge a smartphone twice over. If you want something simpler, the Midland ER100 is a hand-crank radio. Our emergency radio guide compares the options.
Food and the fridge
The Food Standards Agency's advice for a power cut gives these estimates:
- A fridge should keep food cold for up to 4 hours.
- A full freezer should keep food frozen for up to 48 hours, or 24 hours if it's half full.
- Once the fridge reaches 8°C, eat the food that normally needs refrigeration within 4 hours.
The times depend on your appliance and the room, so treat them as a guide and use a fridge thermometer if you have one. When you do need to eat, the FSA's order is: chilled food first, then defrosted food that doesn't need cooking, then perishable food kept at room temperature, and last the tinned, bottled and dried food. Cupboard food is not affected by a power cut.
After the fridge, you are eating what's in the cupboard, so food you can eat cold matters. That means tins, ration blocks and freeze-dried meals. Freeze-dried meals are best with hot water, but cold water works if you can't heat any: they just take longer. Our guide to freeze-dried pouches and tins explains the difference.
Water
The Prepare guidance quotes the World Health Organisation's minimum of 2.5 to 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, and suggests around 10 litres per person per day if you want enough for basic cooking and hygiene. For three days, a household of four needs 30 to 36 litres at the minimum, and around 120 litres to be comfortable.
Start by storing what you can. A 10 litre collapsible jerry can folds flat when it's empty. Then think about treating water you can get hold of: water purification tablets are the cheapest way, and our guide to water filters covers filters. Tablets and filters treat water that exists. They don't create it, so store drinking water first.
Cooking and heating without carbon monoxide
Barbecues, camping stoves and generators give off carbon monoxide, which you can't see or smell. UK gas networks and fire services are consistent on this: never use a camping stove, a barbecue or a generator indoors, or in a tent, even with the windows open, and never use them to heat a room. A barbecue that has finished cooking can still give off the gas while it smoulders.
The safe plan is simple. Eat cold food indoors, and if you want something hot, cook or boil water outdoors. A Kelly Kettle boils water over a wood fire, so use it outdoors like any other stove. If anyone has a headache, feels sick or dizzy, or becomes drowsy, get everyone into fresh air and get medical help. Do not go back in until it has been checked.
What a three-day kit looks like
You don't need a bunker. The Prepare guidance suggests building a kit gradually, and this is the short version, for a household, with what we stock for each:
| You need | What covers three days | From us |
|---|---|---|
| Light | A torch per person, with spare batteries | Nextorch P8 torch |
| News and phone power | A battery or wind-up radio, and a power bank | Midland ER300 Pro (radio and power bank in one) |
| Water | 2.5 to 3 litres per person per day to drink, more for cooking and washing | Collapsible jerry can, purification tablets |
| Food | Food you can eat cold, and a tin opener | Ration blocks, freeze-dried pouches |
| Warmth | Warm clothes and blankets, and something that holds in heat | Space blanket |
| First aid | A first aid kit, and enough of any medication for several days | First aid kit |
We looked at our own orders for the last 12 months. Of the 454 orders that included a Midland ER300 or ER100 radio, 97 (21%) also added water purification tablets, 40 (9%) a collapsible jerry can and 36 (8%) waterproof matches, and 240 (53%) were the radio on its own. Most people sort light and news first, then come back for water, which is why water comes second in this guide and not last.
If you've been without power for 12 hours or more
You may be owed compensation. Ofgem says homes get £100 if fewer than 5,000 properties lose power for more than 12 hours, or if more than 5,000 do for more than 24 hours, plus £45 for each extra 12 hours. Severe weather has its own rules. Most payments are automatic, and if you haven't been paid after a few months you should contact your network operator.
Ten minutes to do now
- Write 105 and your BBC Local Radio frequency on a piece of paper and put it with the torch.
- Charge the power bank and the radio, and check the torch batteries.
- Fill a jerry can or a few clean bottles with drinking water.
- Find out whether you or someone at home could join the Priority Services Register.
- Look in the cupboard and count how many meals you could eat without cooking.
If your question isn't answered here, ask us. We reply within 24 hours, every time, and we've shipped over 10,000 orders since 2020.
