What to do in a power outage

What April 28, 2025 taught us

At 12:33 pm the whole Iberian Peninsula lost power. In most areas it came back between that night and early the next morning. In those hours it became clear what stops working without electricity:

• Payments: card readers and ATMs stopped. People with cash could still buy.
• Transport: subways and trains stopped, traffic lights went out, people were stuck in elevators.
• Communications: cell towers held out for a while on backup batteries, then failed area by area.
• Information: radio kept broadcasting and became the main source of news.
• Water: in tall buildings that rely on a booster pump, upper floors ran dry.

The first ten minutes

1. Check whether it's just your home. Look at the breaker panel: if a breaker tripped, reset it. If the hallway and neighbors are dark too, it's a wider outage.
2. Turn on a flashlight, not a candle.
3. Unplug sensitive electronics like computers, TV or router to protect them from the surge when power returns. Leave one lamp switched on so you know when it's back.
4. Keep the fridge and freezer closed unless absolutely necessary.
5. Get information from the radio. Don't call the emergency number to ask what's going on: it jams the line for people with real emergencies.
6. Think of others: older neighbors, people who live alone or depend on medical equipment.

Your phone battery

In a long outage your phone is your backup flashlight, your map and the channel for emergency alerts. To make it last:

• Turn on low power mode and dim the screen.
• Close apps and turn off data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if you don't need them. Turn them on now and then to check messages.
• Text instead of calling. When the network is congested, a short text needs far less capacity and usually gets through first.
• You can charge it in your car, but with the engine running only outdoors, never in a closed garage.

Light without risk

Candles cause house fires every winter during outages. Better:

• Headlamps, one per person, that keep your hands free.
• LED lanterns to light a whole room. A trick: a flashlight pointed into a jug of water lights up like a lamp.
• A flashlight in every room you spend time in, and everyone knows where it is.

Cold and heat

In winter

• Gather in one room, the smallest and sunniest. Close doors and block drafts with towels.
• Dress in layers with a hat and thick socks. Hot water bottles work if you can heat water.
• Carbon monoxide: never use charcoal, grills, camping stoves or generators indoors. Indoor-rated propane or butane heaters need ventilation and should not run while you sleep. A battery-powered CO detector is a cheap lifesaver.

In summer

• Blinds down and windows closed during the day; open them at night for cross-ventilation.
• Drink water even if you're not thirsty and keep an eye on children, older adults and sick people.
• A damp cloth on the back of your neck and a cool shower or basin of water lower body temperature a lot.

Generator or power station?

For most homes neither is necessary: a power bank and a battery radio cover the basics. Experts make one clear exception: if someone at home depends on powered medical equipment, such as an oxygen concentrator or a medicine fridge.

If you buy a power station, expect to use about 85% of its rated capacity. LiFePO4 models last thousands of charge cycles. Read more in our power station guide. If you depend on medical equipment, talk to your doctor and your utility; many utilities keep a priority list.

When the power comes back

1. Wait a few minutes before plugging everything in: the grid can fluctuate at first.
2. Reconnect appliances gradually, starting with the fridge.
3. Check your food: anything that spent more than 2 hours above 40 °F (4 °C) goes in the trash. See the times in the pantry guide.
4. Recharge batteries and restock whatever you used from the kit.